Won't Forget You
by CantHoldOn
Summary: Alice bears the weight of her own anger and guilt as she wages a guerrilla war with Umbrella. Can she find someone that brings her hope back to life and eases her pain? Alice/Claire
1. Bulletproof

**So be honest... who missed me? I missed all of you! Or am I just saying that to get on everyone's good side again? And I know you're all telling me to shut up so you can read the chapter. We'll get there in due time.**

**First! This story picks up a little while after Apocalypse ends, but we're nowhere near Extinction yet. That would have become apparent, but I like everyone being well informed before reading. Also, I snagged chapter titles from Five Finger Death Punch songs - each of which inspired its respective chapter. You can give the songs a listen if you want, but it's not required. Now read all the rest of the stuff I have to include in my Author's Note, then read the chapter, and then... you guessed it: review! Reviews are my muse (and so is andrella07, but don't tell her I said that!).**

**Rated M for language, adult themes, gore, maybe some smut eventually... Seriously, if you've read any of my other stories, you know exactly what to expect. And that's why you keep coming back for more.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and will not at any point own Resident Evil or Five Finger Death Punch - though it'd be really cool if I did.**

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_Chapter 1: Bulletproof_

_You won't break me, no matter how hard you try_

_You can't shake me down_

_I'm fucking bulletproof_

After escaping the Detroit Umbrella facility, the group that had 'rescued' Alice – she really hadn't needed it – took her to the only safe place they could think of. There was a small pocket of resistance that was trying to fight back against Umbrella and the spreading infection. Unfortunately, they were only putting themselves in more danger by taking the blonde to them.

While she was in the facility, Dr. Isaacs had done far more to Alice than had originally been done in the Raccoon City hospital. He revived her with another strand of the T-virus, this one even stronger than the first infection, and implanted a neural dampener to keep control of his prized Project. Once he activated Project Alice, she was an unwitting spy for Umbrella.

The first time they took complete control of her was when they stormed the building that the resistance was hiding in. They knew where everything was and where everyone would be. It was also the first time that Alice stained her hands with the blood of the innocent. She could see every move that she was making, but had no will to stop herself.

Angie died that night – and Alice was the one holding the gun that killed the girl.

Jill was nearly paralyzed – and Alice was the one holding the knife that sank into her back.

Carlos was blown halfway to hell – and Alice was the one that threw the grenade into the room after him.

The only reason LJ was spared from the rampage was that he ducked out as soon as the Umbrella soldiers stormed the building. If he hadn't, he would have been among the ranks of the dead and seriously injured. The only ones that made it out were those tough enough to fight out, or smart enough to play dead.

Rage had been the only thing to free her from the hold that Umbrella had on her. It was enough to regain the will to control her own body and it was enough to threaten to destroy her. The anger spurned by her lack of control never went away – she was angry at herself for what she'd done and angry at Umbrella for making her do it.

To avoid such a situation again, Alice broke into another facility and got the satellite tracks so she could keep from being found. They couldn't control her if they couldn't find her. If they couldn't find her, they couldn't see her coming either.

After falling off the grid, Alice worked on bettering her control over the powers given to her by the T-virus. The most startling were her telekinetic abilities. That was something she'd never expected and it took time, effort, and a lot of pain to master.

With her first attack on Umbrella, she'd jumped the gun a bit – she had yet to bring herself to her full potential. Control over her telekinetic abilities was dicey at best, but she still took out anyone she could find. Good, old fashioned guns were just as effective as her developing powers.

Her second guerilla inspired attack flowed together with a little more ease. She had worked on her strength and agility; she could better harness her mental powers. The collateral damage she caused was on a very self-satisfying scale. Everyone involved with Umbrella deserved to die – she couldn't deny that even she deserved it, though the T-virus refused to grant her such a reprieve.

Now, she was on her way for yet another attack. That was how she played it every time. After an attack, she'd disappear again for a few months. Only when she was sure the corporation was unaware of her location did she move on to the next.

Alice was outnumbered by… well, she didn't much care for the numbers, but she did know the odds were stacked against Umbrella. Their first mistake was injecting her with the T-virus in Raccoon City, the second mistake was bringing her back from the dead, and the final mistake was giving her a reason to kill them all.

It didn't matter that she was hardly dressed for the occasion – black pants, a white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket offered her absolutely no protection – Alice was still going to make her strike. This time, she was far more confident in herself. While she was hiding from the corporation, she would work on all of her abilities. The only thought going through her head was that if she mastered herself in this new life, she could eradicate Umbrella once and for all.

There was poison running through her veins and it wasn't just the T-virus. The more deadly venom that had set her on this self-destructive path was her barely contained anger. It consumed nearly every fiber of her being and drove her to go after the men that had not only ruined her, but ruined the world.

Night was just beginning to descend when Alice brought her motorcycle to a stop. The all black and fully customized Harley Davidson Nightster was swiped from an obliging dealership – though she was fairly certain it had belonged to someone who had been employed there considering all the work done to it. The motorcycle had served her well thus far and she really didn't think that would change any time soon.

After getting off the bike, she reached into one of the leather saddlebags before producing a pair of H&K MP5Ks, twin Mark XIX Desert Eagles, and a Mossberg 590A1 to round it all off. Each of the weapons was slid into a holster, save for the shotgun. Reaching into the other saddlebag, she retrieved a pair of Kukri blades – if she was going in for a war, she would do it the right way.

Generally, the smartest way to attack such a large, heavily reinforced complex would be to sneak in and keep as low of a profile as possible. That would take far too much time and Alice just didn't have the patience for stealth at the moment. So instead of taking the safe route, she walked right in through the front door.

The blonde didn't get more than two steps into the building before alarms began blaring all around her. She wasn't concerned in the least however. Now that she was here, they wouldn't be able to stop her.

Two dozen soldiers in all black body suits and helmets flooded the hall to block her pursuit, guns up and laser sights all targeting her midsection and chest. "Put down your weapons!" one of them demanded.

Her lips twisted into a smirk. "Maybe you should drop yours."

The only answer she got was a barrage of bullets, all hoping to find their mark but not a single one making it. Alice's pupils dilated to the point that there was only a thin strip of blue iris left around the black and she stopped each of the shots that was meant to 'kill' her. The soldiers stopped firing when they realized they were just wasting ammunition – there were literally hundreds of bullets suspended in the air in front of the woman.

Without so much as a second thought, Alice turned twenty-four of the bullets around and this time they found their marks – one in each of the soldiers who blocked her path. The rest of the suspended ammunition dropped, completely forgotten once they clattered to the floor.

With the first wave dealt with, Alice pressed on. She didn't bother to pick her way through the bodies; if someone was in her way, she stepped on them. They were dead already, what did they care?

Instead of soldiers barreling out into the hall, two grenades clattered down toward her as she rounded a corner. Whoever threw them must have been hoping to catch her off guard and give her little time to react, because the incendiaries exploded before they even stopped rolling.

Though the blonde only had a split second to react, that was all she needed. Her pupils dilated again, manipulating the flames around her as they spread in the hall. She took control of the fire, forcing it back down the hall in the direction that the grenades had originally come. There were shouts as the inferno caught up with the cowards that tried to surprise her, but they quickly dissipated.

Alice walked down the now charred corridor, rounding another corner and finding four blackened bodies. Too bad for them, they should have known better.

This hall led to a staircase that went down at least five floors. The man she was looking for – if he was here at all – would be at the bottom. The blonde tossed a look over the railing when she heard steps coming up toward her. Between what she could see and hear, she estimated about three dozen soldiers this time. Maybe the good doctor was here after all and he was just throwing as many bodies between them as possible.

She slung the shotgun over her shoulder and pulled the submachine guns from the holsters at her waist. The safeties were quickly flipped off before Alice started her descent – she was going to meet the small army of soldiers head on and with guns blazing.

She got down two flights of stairs before colliding head on with the opposing force. Alice gunned down the first line of soldiers, taking a few more steps down to come face to face with the second line. She used the gun in her hand to add force behind a punch and brought her other arm up to hit another soldier hard enough to topple him over the rail. She ducked as the butt of a rifle came her way and as she straightened, she shot the man point blank.

With a quick flip of the weapon, Alice holstered one of the submachine guns and in the same fluid motion, drew out a Kukri blade. She used the edged weapon to literally cut down those closest to her and shot the ones that weren't within arm's reach.

It didn't take long for three dozen bodies to litter the stairs around her. Alice was a machine designed to excel at one thing: killing. And she surpassed that with flying colors.

Now that her way was clear again, the blonde holstered her other gun and bent down briefly to wipe the blood from her blade off on a fallen soldier's suit. Once it was safely back in its sheath, she pulled the shotgun from her shoulder and finished her descent down the stairs.

She had expected more soldiers to stand in her way, but all told she'd already killed over sixty men. None of them were her prime target though, but she hoped to find him waiting in the lowest level of the building.

When the stairs leveled out to a landing, she glanced around. There wasn't anyone around. That was incredibly irritating. The labs and offices were completely silent, even to her enhanced hearing. She stepped further into the area, listening for any signs of movement or life.

From the looks of things, no one had been working in this complex for a while. The soldiers had been here only to protect Umbrella's assets. This was not what she had wanted to find.

"Shit," she swore lowly, letting her arm drop for the shotgun to simply hang at her side.

"Project Alice… I'm so happy to see you." The familiar voice made her blood boil with fury.

The blonde whipped around to face the doctor. She had known before turning that it wasn't actually him in the room; she would have heard him before this. "Isaacs," she snarled out his name with such venom it sounded like an insult.

The projection moved closer to her, as if to get a better look. "My, my, my… how much you've developed since we last saw each other. I'm so proud of you."

The compliment was more like a thousand knives, digging into her skin mercilessly. "I don't want your pride," she snapped. "I want to end the miserable existence you call a life."

Dr. Isaacs merely sneered at her resent. "I don't believe that I'm the miserable one here, Project Alice."

"Fuck you." If it would have done any good, she would have brought the shotgun up and emptied it into him.

"Now, now," he chastised with a shake of his head. "Where are your manners? I offered a compliment, the correct response would have been to accept it… but, I suppose that would be too much to ask."

"Yes," Alice confirmed with a nod. "It is too much to ask. What do you want?"

"I watched you via the surveillance in this building, you're magnificent. You really should come home, Project Alice."

For a moment, she wondered if he would be stupid enough to answer her next question. "Alright, just where is home then?"

The projection of Isaacs merely laughed. He was far too smart to fall for that. "All in due time, all in due time."

"I'm done with you," the blonde stated, bringing up the shotgun. He was about to protest and point out that the gun would do nothing, but she wasn't actually aiming for _him_. The shot found its way into the computer producing the projection and Isaacs was gone in an instant.

Alice was sure she was running out of time – now that they knew where she was, they'd be sending a team or five to come and collect her. She rummaged around in the labs until she found what she wanted. Each facility had a purge device and she was going to rid the world of another Umbrella complex.

With the timer set and counting down, she quickly headed back up the stairs and out of the building. There was no time pack away her weapons, so she merely jumped onto her motorcycle. The roar of the motor was drowned out by another roar underneath the street. She hit the gas as the ground started breaking apart and the building started to collapse around itself.

This particular complex had been hidden in plain sight in a fairly large city, so she ducked down the first road that she could and pressed on with more speed. The damage area from the explosive purge device was a large one, at least a mile in radius. Once she got out of the danger zone, she had to find some sort of cover to hide from the helicopters that were quickly closing in.

She saw an old warehouse ahead and pulled inside, killing the bike's engine and sitting in utter silence. The roar of the explosion she'd set off was finally dying down, but she could hear the roar of a few choppers replace it. Just like she'd thought, Umbrella was looking for her.

Several incredibly tense minutes passed while she waited for them to give up. Sure, they could search every inch of the city, but that would be a waste of their time and assets. Even if someone managed to find her, she'd kill them before they even had a chance to radio it in.

About ten minutes went by before she was able to pull back out of the abandoned building. A quick survey of the sky and the tops of the buildings around her confirmed that she was safe for the time being.

Alice didn't linger in the city for long. She hit the highway that would lead her further west and didn't even glance back at the city she was leaving. The world had ended, most of its inhabitants were dying, dead, or undead. There was hardly any chance at all that any innocent, living people had gotten caught in the crossfire and wondering about it just wasn't something she could allow herself – she already had enough guilt weighing on her shoulders.

It was well past midnight when the blonde finally stopped again. Her bike needed gas and she couldn't deny that a couple hours of sleep was a tempting thing. Towns and cities were sparse along the stretch of highway she traveled, so she simply pulled off the side of the road to make a Spartan camp for the night.

The first order of business was to get a fire going. Yes, it could attract the undead, but she could handle any wandering threats. Once she had that going, she pulled the extra fuel can from the rack on her bike and filled up the gas tank. Fuel was getting pretty high on her list of priorities; she was starting to run low. That would be something to search for tomorrow.

As Alice settled down by the fire – a thin blanket the only thing separating her from the cold ground – she switched on a radio she'd picked up from a military blockade. It could receive transmissions within a reasonable distance, but she wasn't too worried about returning the calls. Every now and again she heard a message for help and depending on how desperate the plea was, she would either head that way or ignore it.

Tonight, the frequency seemed to be clear. A year had passed since the Raccoon City incident, and living people were already starting to get scarce. Many thought if they holed up, the threat would pass. They were the first ones to die. The threat didn't pass and they either starved, killed each other, or were caught by the infection.

After listening to the silence that the radio offered for a while, Alice pulled out her map and decided where she wanted to go from here. She'd have to lay low for a while again, because Umbrella would be up in arms until they realized they wouldn't find her until she wanted to be found again. Heading out west seemed to be the best option for now. It was more open than the congested northeast, but that also meant more area for the corporation to have to scour to find her.

With a very, very simple plan in mind, the blonde packed away her map again and lay down on the blanket. The radio was still on nearby and she heard it crackle to life before she let herself drift off to sleep.

"_This is Claire Redfield's convoy, is anybody out there? I repeat, this is Claire Redfield's convoy… Is anybody out there?"_


	2. Dying Breed

**I'm back! This time I wasn't even gone as long... though I'm pretty sure you all are going to wish I stayed away because by the end of this chapter... you might hate me. Read on, dear kiddies, and try to enjoy, yeah? Oh, and leave me some feedback too - I think I've proved more than once that more feedback makes me update faster.**

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_Chapter 2: Dying Breed_

_All I wanted was your honesty_

_Something more than this, something more than me_

_Death can take me if I can't be free_

The transmission that Alice heard the night before didn't offer up a location for the convoy in question. They couldn't be too far; she had picked up their message after all. Then again, she had about a ten mile reach in each direction, that left it open for a lot of possibilities. If they got moving first thing in the morning – like she always did – then they would have a head start in whatever direction they were heading.

The open, abandoned highway offered solace under the scorching sun. She knew that at one time the Midwest was full of lush, green fields, but that wasn't the case now. Plant and animal life was starting to wither and die alongside the human race. Extinction seemed inevitable for mankind; no longer being human was both a blessing and a curse for Alice.

After being in the city and dealing with Umbrella, nothing made her feel more free than being out on the open road. If she couldn't be free, then death could have her. She would find a way to do more damage to herself than the T-virus could mend before she let the corporation have control of her.

Right now, she didn't have to worry about that. Umbrella had no idea where she'd gotten off to and she would keep it that way. Even if they had some suspicions to her whereabouts, there was a lot of open country she was heading into and not even they could search it all without taking quite some time. She was the proverbial needle and her haystack was the size of a whole country.

She had headed north along I-29 so that she could hop onto I-80 in Council Bluffs and from there head through Omaha and continue her journey westward. If there really was any decent sized group of survivors out there, her best bet was those two cities. The group would need to find supplies and both choices would offer that – and a large undead population.

That meant she could very well find a group of dead people, if she found anyone at all. They hadn't sounded like they needed help; perhaps that was why Alice was seeing if she could find them. It would be a lie to say she wasn't curious. She thrived in this world because Umbrella built her for it, but she had to wonder how others managed.

Council Bluffs offered her nothing in the way of living people. There were quite a few undead and she took out as many as she could without wasting too much of her ammunition. They were once people, yes, but now she felt compelled to end their existence of misery. No one would ever want to continue on as one of those.

While in the city, she made a gamble of stopping to fill up on gas. She ran the risk of getting herself surrounded, which was never a good idea. Luckily, her bike's tank and the fuel can were quick to fill up again. Alice barely spent twenty minutes in the city before she was back on the highway.

The drive between Council Bluffs and Omaha was only four miles and she made it in less than ten minutes. Omaha was a larger city, so she picked her way around it with a little more care. It would be a shame to blow her cover already and killing a massive amount of infected would draw attention.

Instead of checking for supplies, she just continued through the large city. There was still no sign of the supposed convoy she'd heard from the night before so she had to assume she had either gone in the wrong direction or they were already dead. That had happened plenty of times before; people made a recording then let it play over and over again only for help to show up far too late.

It was just as well though. That meant less contact with people and less of a chance of Umbrella finding her. If she was in a group, that would obviously be easier to find than a lone traveler. Her curiosity from before could be sated by the thought that they had likely died before she could catch up.

Just when she had settled with the thought that she could now have a nice, normal day of surviving on the road, she spotted vehicles in front of her. Abandoned vehicles were never a surprise; they were as plentiful of flies on rotting corpses. These were different, however – they were on the road and they were moving.

Apparently she needed to give people more credit because _someone_ was obviously still alive. They were heading in the same direction as Alice, but she was gaining on them. From what she could see there was a yellow Hummer at the front of the line, followed by a news van, an ambulance, and a commandeered military transport truck.

They seemed to have noticed that their presence wasn't the only one on the road, because the vehicles slowed and pulled off the side a bit. Alice could already see a few people getting out and they were packing some serious heat. Well that was _exactly_ what she wanted to deal with.

She slowed the bike as she approached the stopped vehicles, not wanting to spook anyone enough to shoot her – that would just be annoying. As she came to a stop, she surveyed the handful of people pointing guns in her direction. At the helm was a redheaded woman who exuded leadership and authority. Maybe this was the Claire Redfield mentioned over the radio?

"What do you want?" the redhead asked calmly, her expression nearly impossible to read behind the dark aviator sunglasses she wore.

"First, I want you to stop pointing all those guns at me," Alice replied, just as calm as the other woman. "Most people who do that don't even live this long."

"And that's supposed to give us the incentive to put them down?"

"Yes, actually, it is."

After a moment, the redhead nodded to the others and they eased up on their weapons – they were still at the ready though. "So who are you?" the woman asked.

"My name is Alice. I heard a transmission about a convoy last night. I'm assuming that's you?"

The redhead studied her for a moment, sizing her up, before offering a nod. "I'm Claire," she confirmed. "Do you need help?"

Alice scoffed at the notion. "No, I don't. I was just curious to see if the transmission was true."

Claire's brow quirked over her aviators. "You were just curious?" she repeated in disbelief. "Curiosity is a dangerous thing these days."

"You have no idea," the blonde replied with a shake of her head. "But there's always something more dangerous lurking around the corner."

Again, Claire was silent as she studied the newcomer. Something was off about her, that much was obvious. What that was, she couldn't place, but she didn't think it was anything good. "Look… we're all heading in the same direction… you could follow us for a while if you want. This interstate goes on for quite a ways."

She mulled over the offer – the only tempting part of it was the defiant and strong redhead she was talking to. Claire was every bit the leader that Alice refused to be; the hero to the people of her convoy that Alice wouldn't allow herself to be for the world. "Okay, I can do that," she finally agreed.

Claire took the answer with a nod, turning her attention to the others with her. "Let's get moving again," she told them. The small group dispersed and went back to their respective vehicles.

Alice returned to her bike and got back onto it. She waited until the others had taken off again before she started the motorcycle up and fell in line behind the military truck.

So far, she was fairly impressed with the group. They were smart enough to stay on the road and not hole themselves up in a death trap. Plus, they had a very strong leader that made her presence and authority known with just a look – and that was saying something considering her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses.

The convoy stayed on the road for what was left of the afternoon. They didn't stop again until about an hour before sunset. That would give them enough time to set up camp – since they did more than make a campfire and lay out a blanket – and settle in for the night.

When they did stop, Alice was given proper introductions to the members of the convoy. The ones that stood out most next to Claire were a nurse named Betty and a communications guy named Mikey. While Claire was obviously the one in charge, those two seemed to be the ones that helped her hold everything together. Mikey was a talkative young man with an Australian accent – and in another life, Alice probably would have found him charming. Betty was a very compassionate woman who seemed to be genuinely concerned with helping others – her profession before the outbreak was a testament to that.

Alice mostly kept to herself while the convoy set themselves up for the night. They set a perimeter up around the area to alert them to any incoming threats. She wasn't about to tell them that she could do a better job than their electronics could ever hope to though. That would raise far too many questions and frankly, she didn't want to deal with it.

Most of her attention fell to the leader of this ragtag band of people. Claire did everything with purpose and confidence. She took it upon herself to keep these people safe and she obviously took the task with all seriousness. The more Alice watched her, the more she wanted to approach the other woman.

As the sun fell closer to the horizon, Claire pulled her aviators off. That gave Alice a much better look at the woman. The redhead was nothing short of beautiful – a stark contrast to the ugly world around them. Despite her best efforts at fighting it, that just drew Alice in even further. Whether she would ever admit to it or not, the depressing state of the world – and even her own existence – made her yearn for something better, something more than herself.

If Claire noticed that she was being watched, she didn't show it. She went about what Alice assumed was business as usual without a hitch or falter. Only after everyone was settled in and tucked away safely for the night did she seem to relax a little.

Claire returned to the yellow Hummer briefly, it looked like she was just checking on the two occupants sleeping inside. They all slept in their reinforced vehicles; it was the safest place considering attacks in the middle of the night weren't uncommon.

Then something happened that Alice didn't expect. The redhead left the Hummer – which she was absolutely positive had enough room left in it for the woman to sleep in – and went to the news van. While most of her focus had been on the redhead, she had noticed that Mikey stayed in the van – he was the _only_ one that stayed in the van.

The blonde felt something she had nearly forgotten about rear its head and it struck her with an unforgiving vengeance: jealousy. It didn't matter that there was more than one possible explanation. In Alice's mind, there was only one reason Claire would go to the van, and that thought was reinforced when the back door closed behind her.

Mikey and Claire were the only ones in that van – it could have easily held two or three more, but they were the only ones. In the back of the vehicle, no one would be able to spy on them. No one would be the wiser anyway, because everyone but Alice was already asleep.

With all the unbearable thoughts bouncing endlessly through her head, the blonde had no hopes of sleep that night. Instead, she went over and stoked the dying campfire to life and sat down by it. She glared daggers into the obviously offending blaze. Each time her thoughts collided together, the flames grew a little bigger and brighter, only to dissipate when she realized what she was doing again.

She wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed, but she guessed it was a couple of hours when she heard the van opening up again. Claire came out of it, shutting the door after herself. When the redhead noticed that Alice was still up, she looked like a deer caught in headlights temporarily. Apparently she wasn't expecting anyone to be up.

Alice returned her attention to the fire as the redhead recomposed herself and actually approached her. "What are you still doing up?" Claire questioned.

"Couldn't sleep," Alice said with a shake of her head. "It happens a lot."

The redhead stopped about two feet from her, looking down at the blonde. "You really should try and get some rest. It won't do anyone any good if you fall asleep on that bike."

"Maybe you should take your own advice," Alice's reply was a little colder than she intended it to be.

Claire merely brushed it off without missing a beat. "How long were you traveling alone out there?"

Briefly, Alice glanced up at the other woman. "Since about a month after the outbreak," she said simply.

"That's a long time to go without being around anyone," Claire commented. "Especially if it was by choice."

There was a bit of silence before Alice offered up another response. "Maybe I like being alone." Her statement had the desired effect: the redhead only lingered a moment longer before nodding and heading back to her Hummer, leaving Alice alone for the rest of the night.


	3. No One Gets Left Behind

_Chapter 3: No One Gets Left Behind_

_Have you no honor?_

_Have you no soul?_

_What is it they're dying for, do you really even know?_

_Whatever happened to no one gets left behind?_

Though Alice distanced herself from the rest of the convoy, she spent a week with the group of survivors. She learned that Claire's leadership instincts were dead on. The redhead was born to be a leader; she could whip people into shape with a few words or a smoldering look. She held herself just enough above the others to make the tough decisions, but was still in touch with and cared about those whose safety she was charged with.

Alice couldn't deny that she was impressed. The redhead was a force to be reckoned with. That just made everything harder on her. She liked the other woman more than she knew she should. It was far too dangerous for her to get attached to anyone, but no matter how hard she tried to fight it, she couldn't change how she felt.

It was just one more thing to be angry with herself about.

Thankfully the country was brimming with infected and Alice could blow off steam when they came across pockets of the undead. Claire may have been the strong leader, but the blonde showed her prowess in the art of killing – and no one could even hope to compete with her. She held her mental powers at bay; all she needed was a blade or a gun in her hand to get the job done.

Even though she was helping to protect them, the ease with which she dispatched the undead was unsettling to those of the convoy. No one mentioned it, probably due to the fact that they didn't want such skills turned against themselves.

They had stopped for the night again and as usual, Alice kept her distance. The redhead wouldn't let her be by herself all the time. In fact, from what Alice could tell, Claire was starting to trade some of her time with Mikey to come and talk to her. The second night that the blonde had spent in the convoy's company, Claire had returned to the news van. The third night, the redhead had come and sat by the fire with Alice and talked to her, though Alice hadn't offered up much in the way of conversation. The day that followed, she'd noticed the looks between Claire and Mikey and knew that a skipped night wasn't something common.

After that first skipped night, Claire had only gone back to the news van once and it wasn't for quite as long. Despite the fact that Alice had said she liked being alone, the nights that the redhead didn't grace Mikey's van, she came out by the campfire for a while.

Part of Alice enjoyed the company, but another part of her did not. It was a fight to keep her emotions under control. Obviously Claire was with Mikey still, Alice chalked up the redhead spending time with her to sympathy and having been caught a couple of times already. The leader of the convoy just didn't want anyone else finding out – that had to be it.

Tonight, Alice only had a bit of time by herself by the fire. She heard the other woman coming before she ever came into view, sitting down not far from her. The blonde didn't even glance up and maintained her silence – she wasn't going to start up any conversation.

"So… today was pretty impressive," Claire finally said after a long bout of silence. They had run into a particularly large horde of infected and the blonde had mowed down well over half just by herself.

"If you think things like that are impressive," Alice merely shrugged.

Claire studied her intently, looking for even the faintest chink in the other woman's armor, something to let her see what was really going on here. Unfortunately, the blonde was an incredibly good blacksmith. "We're good at killing those _things_, but there's also a decent sized group of us."

Alice knew that the redhead was fishing for answers, trying to not come right out and ask what the hell was going on. "And you want to know how I managed to cut down so many by myself," she stated.

There was another bit of silence before Claire nodded her head once. "I do."

"I'm not like you or anyone else in this convoy," Alice said – her answer incredibly cryptic.

"What does that mean?" the redhead pressed for further explanation.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so let's just leave it at that," Alice told the other woman.

Claire didn't like leaving it at that, but she seemed to figure out that pressing for answers wouldn't get her anywhere. She sat there in silence for a while before reluctantly getting up to go get some sleep.

Alice watched the other woman go, quirking a brow when the redhead halted at her yellow vehicle but didn't get in. After a few moments, she actually turned around and came back to the campfire. This time, she crouched down much closer to the blonde.

"I can see that you're as tough as you want the rest of us to believe. I know that's real, I've seen it with my own eyes," the redhead stated. "But I can see there's a lot more going on than you want anyone else to know. You're angry and you're hurting."

For a moment, Alice actually had no idea how to respond. She couldn't believe that Claire had just called her out like that, but for as angry a person as she was, she couldn't direct it at the other woman – not easily, at least. "You have no idea what you're talking about," she shook her head.

Claire didn't believe that – Alice's silence had spoken volumes to her. She was on the right track and she knew it. "No, I'm pretty sure I know exactly what I'm talking about, whether you admit to it or not." Reading people was part of her job.

Alice clenched her jaw shut, incredibly unhappy with the conversation at hand. Couldn't the redhead just drop it? "You should go get some sleep," she said, abruptly changing the subject. "Or maybe go take care of your Australian pup."

There was a tense moment where the blonde actually thought she might catch fire under Claire's smoldering glare. She actually liked the notion. "Even before the world ended, being alone was no way to live. Now that stands even more true. You've only been with us for a week and I can see the loneliness is eating away at you… You don't have to let it stay that way."

Claire didn't wait for a response. Instead, she got back up and headed back to the Hummer once more, this time actually getting in. Her words had the effect she wanted; Alice was up all night thinking them over.

The blonde truly didn't understand why Claire would say something like that. Alice had stated plain as day that she liked being alone, but the other woman pressed the subject and even sounded like she wanted to help.

That was just part of what the redhead did. She was a leader, rallied people to her side and stirred their hope to keep them moving. Well, Alice wasn't going to let that happen. She didn't need to be rallied or stirred, she was just fine now.

Alice didn't bother with trying to sleep for the second night in a row. She couldn't, even if she wanted to. Claire's words were on repeat in her head and they just wouldn't allow her any sort of rest.

As the sun crested the horizon again, the convoy started stirring once more. Alice had let the fire die hours before and was lounging back against her motorcycle. She didn't bother helping them pack up; they could manage on their own.

Their traveling so far had been slow. A week had passed and they had barely made it three-quarters of the way through Nebraska. There were obstacles like the undead, a need to stop for supplies, and blocked roads that needed to be cleared so they could pass. Hopefully they'd make it through to Colorado that day – depending on traveling conditions.

The sun had graced the sky for about an hour before they finally hit the road. Alice had taken to traveling alongside the other vehicles up near the front of the line by the Hummer. It gave her a good spot to see what was coming at them, but also to turn around if trouble came at them from behind.

Between the start of their journey and early afternoon, they were closing in on the I-80 and highway 83 junction. That would leave them just over 70 miles to Colorado. It was a very feasible drive, though things usually never worked out the way anyone wanted.

The convoy slowed just before reaching the junction and actually came to a stop. Alice wasn't very thrilled with the turn of events, but something must have been up.

Claire got out of the Hummer and started back towards the news van as Mikey got out of his own vehicle. "What's up?" she asked.

"Just got a transmission from a small pocket of survivors in need of assistance," he answered quickly.

They were all business – Alice found it a very interesting development. She'd have to investigate it later.

"Where are they at?" the redhead questioned.

"Come have a listen," Mikey told her before leading her toward the back of the van. He opened it up and climbed inside to replay the recorded message. Claire climbed in after him.

Alice and a few others came up to the open vehicle to listen as well. They all wanted to know the reason behind their stop, but she was the only one that recognized the voice on the transmission.

"_Anybody out there? Hello? Shit… we need some help! There's six people in the Great Plains Regional Medical Center, and we're surrounded by them motherfuckin' undead. We don't have any way out, somebody help!"_

She honestly thought they were all dead. She'd seen it all happen by her own hands. Somehow, it was LJ's voice on that transmission – there was no doubt in her mind of it. If he was still alive, there was a chance that Jill and Carlos were alive as well.

"Mikey, figure out how far we are from that hospital," Claire said before exiting the van once more. "That's where we're heading now."

Alice approached the redheaded convoy leader after that. "I'm leaving," she stated bluntly.

Claire turned to face her, irritation and confusion etched on her features. "What?"

"I'm leaving. I'm not going to that medical center," Alice said before turning to head to her bike.

Her departure wasn't meant to be an easy one because Claire followed her toward the motorcycle that was parked next to her Hummer. "We actually need your help and now you're going to leave, just like that?" she demanded.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Alice confirmed with a nod. She couldn't go help when she knew that at the very least, LJ was there waiting. He knew what she had done – what Umbrella had forced her to do.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Claire's voice actually rose a bit in her anger. "There are people out there that need help! I've seen you fight; I doubt you'd even need our help to get them out of the building."

"I can't," the blonde shook her head.

"Bullshit. You _won't_," Claire corrected, stepping closer and invading Alice's personal space. "I don't know why you had a sudden change of heart, but I get the feeling it's because of that transmission. So what's the game, when someone actually needs help, you bail?"

Alice really didn't like having her space invaded like this and she could have easily remedied the situation, but she restrained herself. "You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me," the redhead demanded.

When Claire took another step forward, Alice actually retreated a step – though it was an unconscious movement. "There's too much to explain."

"You're just going to leave those people out there – to die?" Apparently the redhead wasn't going to drop the subject. "Do you even have a conscience? A soul?"

"No," Alice answered flatly. "That died at the same time I did."

In a completely unexpected move, Claire pushed the blonde back against the yellow Hummer. Before Alice had time to react – and considering she needed bare minimum reflex time, that was saying something – the other woman's lips were upon her own. Though it took instinct a delayed moment to kick in, she returned the kiss with such an unrestrained passion that it nearly made Claire's knees buckle.

Time seemed to stretch on forever, but then the kiss ended far too quickly as the redhead pulled back. She gave Alice a look that could level even the most stalwart of men. "Now if I see you get on that motorcycle, it had better be to fall in line with the other vehicles of this convoy," she stated before turning to walk away.

Honestly, Alice had absolutely no idea what had just happened as she watched Claire go back to where they had left the others going over the transmission and maps. There was only one thing that she was sure of as she pushed herself off from the Hummer again: the only reason she was getting back on her bike was to fall in line with the other vehicles in the convoy.

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**Claire and I had a long discussion about this chapter, because she was worried Alice got the wrong impression about her and Mikey. I had to point out that Alice actually got the right impression and nearly died from the death glare I got - Claire is really good at those. Anyways, she wanted to know how to fix it and I gave her the best advice ever: "Assert yourself, woman! ... It's definitely a turn on for Alice." And that is how this chapter came into being.**

**Now aren't you glad I drink copious amounts of caffeine? If nothing else, you get amusing Author's Notes. Now you know the drill, hit the little 'Leave a Review' button just a little further down the page and type something in the box. It'd make me incredibly happy.  
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	4. The Bleeding

_Chapter 4: The Bleeding_

_The lying, the bleeding, the screaming_

_Was tearing me apart_

_The hatred, deceiving, the bleeding_

"We're about three miles from the hospital." Alice heard Mikey talking as she walked back over to the news van. She really didn't want to stay, didn't want to find out just who and what would be waiting at that medical center… but Claire made one hell of an argument.

"That's not too bad," Claire said. "We'll lock and load before we leave. According to that transmission, the medical center is surrounded… who knows how many there will be. Everybody get geared up and we'll go."

The others nodded and dispersed, going to gather some weapons. They were all apprehensive about going somewhere that they knew there were many undead, but they also wanted to help those that they could. That was more credit than the blonde had given them.

Once everyone started getting ready, Claire turned to look at Alice once more. "You need some weapons?" she asked.

She actually smirked at the notion. "Of course not," the blonde answered. "I thought you'd have figured that out by now."

"Just making sure," Claire shrugged. "If you're coming – which you _are_ – you should get ready. I'm betting we're going to be driving head on into a fight."

"Let's hope it isn't a trap," Alice commented before heading back to her bike. She'd been keeping the magnums on her person, but she'd get out her other weapons that way she wouldn't have to waste the time to do it once they got to the hospital.

She methodically checked the weapons, making sure they were fully loaded and ready to go. Nothing irritated her more than not having enough ammunition. As she slung the shotgun over her shoulder, Claire joined her again. "Jesus Christ… packing enough heat?" the redhead asked.

"You have no idea," Alice told her with a grin.

There was a moment of silence as Claire tried to figure out just what the other woman meant, but then she bypassed the comment. "We should see what we're up against and figure out a plan to get those people out _safely_ instead of going in guns blazing."

"I can't make any promises," Alice admitted honestly.

Obviously Claire didn't like the admission, but she nodded just the same. "Let's get going." She headed back to her Hummer and got in so she could take the lead.

As the convoy hit the road again, Alice traveled parallel to the yellow Hummer this time. Usually she hung back just a little bit, but this time the trouble wasn't going to come in from behind them, they were heading straight into it.

When they moved from the highway to regular city streets, they found a familiar scene. The roads were congested with abandoned vehicles, trash, and other debris. The bigger vehicles could barrel their way through the obstacles, but Alice had to weave here and there on the motorcycle – though it didn't slow her down one bit.

The street they were on was lined with houses and businesses that had seen their better days. The other buildings gave way to an open space on the right, which offered up a view of the hospital. Even from the road, they could see what they were up against: there were at least a hundred, probably two hundred undead surrounding the building, all trying to get inside.

Alice really hadn't expected a group that big. Maybe fifty or sixty… but most definitely not nearly two hundred. She wasn't going to let that stop her – not at all.

When the hummer slowed down, Alice actually sped up. She could practically hear Claire swearing as she did so – the redhead had mentioned something about formulating a plan instead of going in guns blazing… That just wasn't Alice's style though.

As she moved ahead of the others, Alice pulled out one of her submachine guns. The noise from the vehicles was drawing the attention of the mass of undead. Though the thought of taking on a crowd like that by herself was exhilarating, the blonde knew that it could prove to be quite dangerous.

She took the second entrance into the hospital's parking lot, opening fire on the undead that were breaking away from the rest. So as not to damage her precious motorcycle, she brought it to a stop at a distance she deemed acceptably safe and got off. If she let anything happen to it, she'd have no way of traveling – and she couldn't have that.

Alice didn't even glance back as she heard the other vehicles coming up behind her. Both submachine guns were in her hands and she set to work. This was the best opportunity for a fight she'd found in some time, especially with a group of infected this large. Umbrella would notice the carnage, so she'd have to get out of the area as soon as possible – but she'd already planned on that.

The infected were breaking off in waves, but getting gunned down just as quickly. Not only was Alice shooting, but so were the others in the convoy. She was the first to run out of ammo, but she defaulted to her Kukri blades effortlessly. No one else was crazy enough to get close enough for hand to hand combat, but it did save a lot on ammunition.

The blade in her right hand was pointed backwards, but the one in her left was being held the right way. The varied grips gave her a wider range of motion and a better variety of attack possibilities.

Her first undead victim had his head sliced clean off, as did the second and third. It didn't really matter how sharp the blades were because with Alice's strength, they would go through their intended victims one way or another. The blonde cut off other limbs as necessary as she hacked her way through enough undead to lose count – and her brutality showed itself. Now on a much more personal level of killing the infected, she couldn't hold that at bay as easily.

Only when the gunfire stopped and she pulled one of her blades out of what had once been a person's brain did Alice glance back at the others. She'd been completely in her element and it had scared them. They'd seen her fight before, but she'd been smart enough to hold back. Now they knew something very serious was amiss, because no regular person would have been capable of dismembering all the bodies that were now laying in a large area around her feet.

They could be scared all they wanted. She'd decided on the way here that once they were done rescuing the people here, she was going to leave.

"Let's go," she told them before turning to head for the nearest entrance.

Only Claire and two others were going to accompany her inside. The rest would stay outside and watch over their supplies and vehicles. Just because they'd mowed down all the infected in the immediate area didn't mean it was completely safe.

The entrance that they approached was blocked to keep the infected out. That didn't mean it could keep Alice out. She had the others stay back for a moment and with two well placed, powerful kicks, she not only opened the door, but managed to break it and made a great deal of noise as the blockade fell apart on the other side.

Whoever was in the building would definitely know someone was coming inside.

"Get us all shot," Claire practically hissed as she walked up behind Alice and followed the other woman inside.

"Nothing happened," Alice pointed out as she walked down the dark hall. Her heightened senses picked up scant amounts of noise, which guided her direction.

"Do you even know where you're going?" the redhead demanded quietly. She was just a couple of steps behind Alice, and the others were behind her.

Alice didn't offer Claire a response, mostly because she didn't have time to. The ambush didn't surprise her, she'd heard it coming – there were suddenly three people around them, all holding guns. She recognized the two men standing in front of them and if she had seen who had come up behind them, she'd recognize the woman too.

"Drop your weapons," Carlos demanded. He and LJ were the two in front of her – as soon as they saw her, their own guns were trained on her instead of the others she was with.

Alice had half a mind to give them reason to shoot her, but then she also knew they already had plenty of reason for it. She wasn't about to just drop her weapons though, so she settled for sliding the blades back into place at her belt.

"I said drop them," Carlos pointed out. His focus was on Alice, he didn't care about the other three with her – they weren't the biggest threat here.

"Hey, take it easy," Claire spoke up. "She's part of the reason we made it inside and got you all a way out."

The man's attention briefly shifted to the redhead. "If you're defending her, then I have to assume she hasn't told you everything," he said.

Alice heard movement behind them – what should have been the steady sound of footsteps coming around to the front of the group was hindered by what she assumed was a limp. "She's good at that." It was Jill's voice, and it was more cold and harsh than she remembered.

"What are you talking about?" Claire questioned. "And would you all drop your guns? We aren't here to hurt you."

"You should be pointing your gun at her too," Jill spoke again. "Last time we saw her… she tried to kill us."

"I bet she didn't tell you that she's infected," Carlos added. Even in the dim light, Alice could see a large scar jutting out the top of his shirt, covering part of the left side of his neck.

There was silence for a moment before Claire stepped up beside the blonde, facing her. "Is that true?" she questioned.

"It is," Alice answered without pause, nodding. "Everything they've said is true."

"I don't know how long you've been hangin' with her, but she's bad news," LJ said with a nod.

Alice knew this was a bad idea, her worst fears had been realized. This was exactly why she'd wanted to leave the convoy before coming to the hospital. "You three have the right to hate me; I won't stop you from getting your revenge if that's what you want."

The three didn't even hesitate as they readied their guns, but were forced to stop short of shooting her as Claire stepped ahead of the blonde. "Whoa, now just wait a second. We're all civilized people here. I don't know what the hell happened between the four of you, but I do know that Alice just helped get you three a way out of the building and if she didn't, you probably would have died here. Now let's all go outside _calmly_ and figure out what to do from here."

Carlos was the first to ease up, holstering his gun. "We have a few others here with us. We'll go get them and meet you outside," he said. He motioned for LJ and Jill to put their weapons away as well before they turned to head back and get the others that were holed up with them.

"Come on, let's go back outside," Claire told Alice. The two that had come in with them were already heading back out the door. The blonde offered a nod, going back outside with the other woman. "Now… care to explain what just happened? And why the hell didn't you tell me that you're infected?"

"I told you I wasn't like you or anyone else in this convoy," Alice pointed out, heading back for her motorcycle. This time, she really was going to leave. "And what they said is true. The last time I saw them, I nearly killed them. In fact, I was pretty sure they were all dead."

"What are you doing?" the redhead asked, watching as Alice started packing her things away on the bike.

"I'm leaving," Alice answered simply.

"What is it with you and leaving? So your past came back to bite you in the ass… you're just going to run from it?"

"I figured you would want me to leave now that you know the truth: I stab my friends in the back and I'm infected." Alice stopped what she was doing so she could face Claire. "Umbrella is still hunting me. I'm putting your people in danger just by being here. If they find me, they'll kill every single one of you."

Claire was silent for a moment. Actually, she didn't offer a response. She was torn – she wanted Alice to stay, but if what she'd just heard was true… she had a lot of lives in her care.

"Exactly," Alice finally said with a nod, turning to finish what she'd been doing. "I'm making the decision for you. I'll leave and you won't have to worry about me or having a run in with Umbrella."

"Alice, just stop for a minute," Claire told the other woman.

"No." The blonde got back onto her motorcycle, glancing over at the hospital as those she helped rescue came out. "I can't stay… even if I want to."

She didn't wait for a response, bringing the bike beneath her to life with a roar of its engine. The kickstand was up and she was back on the road before the redhead could offer up any more protests.

It hurt to leave; Alice could admit that much to herself. It would have hurt much, much more to stay though.

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**So who saw that coming?**

**Remember, reviews make my world go round, and if my world stops going round I'll be too busy trying to survive - that means I wouldn't be able to keep writing.  
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	5. Never Enough

**Yes, I'm already updating again. This chapter and the one before it have been a little shorter than the rest... plus, this one is pretty epic and I just felt like sharing.**

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_Chapter 5: Never Enough_

_It's never enough, no never enough_

_No matter what I say_

_It's never enough, no never enough_

_I'll never be what you want me to be_

Never did Alice think it would hurt her so much to leave someone behind like that. She'd only spent a week with the convoy – with Claire – but even with the little contact she had permitted herself, the damage had been done. She liked the fiery, redheaded convoy leader and had to say no for both of them – it was for their own good.

Rejection was never an easy task, not for either party. It was only meant to hurt the person she was leaving behind, but she didn't know how Claire felt about it. Alice knew one thing for certain – it was eating away at her like nothing else ever had.

Nothing she did was ever enough. There was always something more to do, but she just couldn't do it.

After leaving the convoy at the hospital in Nebraska, Alice had made sure the others couldn't follow her. At first she'd wondered if Claire would actually do something like that – follow her and drag her back kicking and screaming if necessary. The more time she was away from them, the more she decided that was just wishful thinking. Surely her attachment to the redhead wasn't reciprocated, at least not as fully as she would have liked.

It didn't matter anymore. She'd put hundreds of miles between herself and the last location she knew the convoy was at. As far as she was concerned, she wouldn't see them again. Ultimately, that would make it much easier on her. Even if she wanted to go back, her past was now a part of that group. Obviously Carlos, Jill, and LJ would always hold her actions against her – she always would.

With each day that passed, Alice rebuilt the guard she'd let down even though it had only been a small amount. She was burying the hurt with her anger and own self-loathing. Those things she could handle, they were familiar and safe – relatively speaking.

It had been two months since she'd left the convoy in Nebraska. She hadn't heard from them or Umbrella. For a very short time, she'd wondered if the two groups had clashed. She cut that wondering short, because it wouldn't make sense for the corporation to go after the survivors. Alice had left them, so Umbrella needed to focus on finding her again. That had to be what they were doing.

Things on the road had been incredibly quiet. Most people would be thankful for the change, but the blonde most certainly was not. She needed something to distract her, because she was her own worst company.

What she didn't think about was the fact that with how quiet things were in the north – where her current path was taking her – it wouldn't be hard to track her. She killed whatever she infected came across without thinking. The only thing she cared about was the fact that it put her more at ease.

That was an unfortunate mistake on her part. Though there was a large undead population through the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, there wasn't much activity otherwise. Alice might as well have handed her map over to Umbrella because they spotted a pattern of dead infected and were able to track her progress.

The corporation was getting better at tracking her with more stealth. The other times they had tried to capture her, they'd alerted the blonde before they could make a move and they lost track of her. That was bad for their business and wasted assets, which the Chairman highly disapproved of. After her last attack, they'd been working on their approach.

That night when Alice stopped, she didn't suspect a thing. She hadn't pulled her radio out once since leaving the convoy. If she didn't hear them, she wouldn't be tempted to return – that was the logic she was going by. That left her with nothing but a campfire and a log to sit on for the night.

She'd slept the night before; she wasn't worried about it tonight. Instead of resting, she pulled her map out and tried to decide where she wanted to go from there. She could try the Detroit facility, but she was absolutely certain Isaacs would have abandoned it. That was a bigger facility, so maybe she would go back and see if she could find some more information on the good doctor.

If she didn't have a location there was just too much ground to cover, even for her. Umbrella had too many resources as well; they could easily move the doctor from facility to facility without her ever being the wiser.

Alice had been settled for less than an hour when sound caught her attention. It was a faint, howling sound. She looked up, frowning deeply as she tried to figure out what exactly it was. Whatever the source was, it was closing in on her.

Realization struck barely a second before impact. She had just enough time to jump up and get two steps away before the Hellfire missile decimated her camp site. The violent blast threw her nearly a dozen feet forward, hitting the ground with enough force to finish knocking the air out of her.

There were a few seconds where everything went black, but as she laid there flat on her back, the world slowly came back into focus. The first thing that her senses picked up was a horrible ringing in her ears. As she opened her eyes, she saw an orange glow off to her right – there was a roaring fire where her little camp had been set up and her motorcycle was gone.

Alice painstakingly sat herself up as a dulled roar from helicopter blades permeated the intense ringing inside her ears. Looking over herself, she took stock of all the damage: much of her back and right side were burned; her right arm was mangled; ribs were broken; cuts and pieces of shrapnel littered her body; there was a gash across her forehead; and she could feel blood oozing out from her ears.

Hellfire missiles were meant to take our armored vehicles, not people – but apparently it was fairly effective at damaging the blonde.

Bright lights shone above her as the helicopters came closer. Alice pushed herself up off the ground despite the excruciating pain. This was one of the many times she wished the virus would just let her die.

"Project Alice, stand down!" a man ordered as he and several others got out of the helicopters.

The blonde barely registered his words – the world was tilting from side to side and still horribly loud. She knew that these men were with Umbrella and that was bad for her. It didn't matter what they were trying to say, it was always the same.

"Move in and take her down," the man said, watching Alice as she faltered on her feet. They'd struck with a missile first with purpose, hoping it would debilitate her to the point that they could collect her.

The small group of soldiers moved in toward the severely wounded Project, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Alice didn't trust her limbs to work properly, but she didn't need an external weapon. Her vision was blurred because of the blast and the hit she'd taken, but she knew the general direction her adversaries were in and that was enough.

It was actually painful as her pupils dilated and she used her telekinetic abilities. She couldn't easily focus on what exactly she was doing with the telekinetic wave, but she put enough force behind it to rip half a foot into the ground as it surged forward from her. The approaching men were blasted back and she even flipped the two helicopters they'd brought.

The strain on her already weakened state was overwhelming. Only the sheer force of will kept her up on her own two feet. No matter how much she wanted to collapse and give in to oblivion, it was far too dangerous here. Obviously Umbrella knew her location; she had to get away from the area.

Alice brought her left hand up, trying to rub the blurriness from her eyes. It worked to an extent, but the world was still trying to tip over. This sort of disorientation wasn't something she was used to, but she'd never been hit with a missile before. If the impact had been a direct hit, she would have been in much worse shape.

Her attention went back to the now crater that had been her little camp just minutes ago. Her bike and gear were all gone. It would have been distressing, had her body and mind been able to handle that on top of the physical trauma she'd just endured.

Travel by foot was not optimal, but it was her only choice. There was hardly any strength left in her body, but she turned and started walking. She took only a handful of steps before something shining in the light of the fire caught her eye. Wearily, she bent down and retrieved the object: one of her Desert Eagles.

A humorless laugh broke the sudden quiet. Alice wasn't even sure that it came from her, but considering she was the only one around, it had to have been her. Sliding the magnum back into its holster, she started walking again.

That was the only thing she could do. The helicopters were too damaged to use and her precious motorcycle was gone. Her own two feet were her only mode of transportation.

She had absolutely no destination in mind, no direction to walk in. All she wanted to do was get as much distance between her and that site as possible. That became her mantra as her limbs began to ache and shake from fatigue. She couldn't stop until she'd gotten far enough away.

The night wore on at an intolerably slow rate. There didn't seem to be an end in sight, but she continued forcing one foot in front of the other. She swayed from time to time and that got worse with the further she walked. Her body was threatening to shut itself down so it could heal, but she couldn't let it – not yet.

The T-virus usually would have started to heal her wounds, but it had yet to fully kick in. She hadn't stopped since nearly being blown apart, hadn't allowed herself to rest. That was what she really needed. As soon as she found somewhere safe, she would let herself rest.

Finally, dawn made its appearance. The blonde didn't know how far she had walked, it could have been just a single mile or it could have been a hundred. The effect was the same. Her weary body was sagging – it was begging her for some restorative sleep before it collapsed under its own weight.

She was on the outskirts of a small town; if she'd seen a sign for it she didn't remember its name. Hopefully it was far enough because she just couldn't go any further. At this point, she didn't even care if there were infected around or not. She needed rest and that was all there was to it.

Alice saw an old retail store on the main street through the small town and though she didn't even have enough energy for another step, she dragged herself to it. There were wrecked vehicles around the outside, but no movement in the area – living or otherwise. The store had seen its better days; the sign above the entrance only had three letters left to it: a 'K', 'r', and't'.

There were many worse places to stay than an old K-mart building. For the faintest of moments, she registered that she'd be able to check for supplies once she woke up again. Everything she'd had before was lost. That thought was gone as quickly as it came, because exhaustion was overwhelming her.

The blonde managed to get half a dozen steps inside the ransacked building before her legs gave out beneath her. Alice never even felt the cold linoleum floor when she hit it – black oblivion caught her as she fell instead.

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**Alice vs. a freakin' Hellfire missile - how awesome is that? She's not real happy about it, but I was stoked.**

**Now remember... reviews make me want to update faster for you. So review. It's good for the world.  
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	6. Far From Home

**By popular demand, here is the next chapter. I know, I know... I'm spoiling you all. So when it takes me more than a day to update, you'll all be up in arms and storming my house to demand more, right? Yeah, I figured so.**

**On another note, if you listen to only one song that I've used for this story, it should be the one for this chapter. It is an amazing song and it gives off exactly the feel that I'm going for with this one. **

**Now, read on. You remember what to do when you get to the bottom of the page? No? ... Well, you review of course! Reviews keep the chapters rolling out so quickly.**

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_Chapter 6: Far From Home_

_And I can't seem to find my way home_

'_cause it's almost like your heaven's trying everything_

_To break me down_

'_cause it's almost like your heaven's trying everything_

_To keep me out_

When Alice woke, she expected to be face down on the hard, unforgiving floor. The last thing she remembered was stumbling into what she thought was an abandoned retail building. Logic dictated that when she came to, if she'd only managed to stumble inside, then she'd be face down on the ground.

That wasn't what she woke to.

The first thing she was aware of was soft warmth around her. The feeling was vaguely familiar, but it took her a moment to place. After a moment of careful contemplation she realized what it was: a blanket. More than one, to be exact.

Then she realized she was being watched.

Alice opened up her eyes, finding a blanket on top of her, one beneath acting as a bed, and a pillow under her head. Her current position was bewildering, until her attention shifted to a blonde teenager sitting about five feet away, watching her intently.

The older woman brought a hand up to rub her forehead, then stopped and looked at her hand. It was her right one, which the night before had been mangled beyond recognition. Now it was perfectly fine. While she slept, the virus had kicked into high gear and healed its host.

"You… you're not like other people, are you?" the teenager spoke up after a few moments.

"No, I'm not," Alice answered honestly. She pulled back the blanket on top of her and sat up – her clothes were still tattered, torn, and burned. She'd have to get some new ones, and soon.

"What's your name?" the girl questioned her again.

"Alice." She looked around the for the magnum she was sure she found last night, but found it laying next to her makeshift bed. "What's yours?"

The answer didn't come right away; the teen actually seemed to be thinking it over – which was rather odd. "K-mart," she finally offered up.

Alice quirked a brow, looking over to the blonde girl once she'd holstered her magnum. "K-mart? Isn't that the store we're in?"

The teen, apparently going by the name K-mart, merely offered her a shrug. "It's as good a name as any. There's nobody left that knows me, so it seems like a good time for change."

The older woman could understand that. If the teen could so easily brush off her astounding healing abilities, she couldn't really complain about the name that the girl was sporting. "You're alone here?" Alice questioned after a moment.

K-mart offered a nod, "Yeah, I've been here for a while."

"It's not safe to stay in one place for long." Alice carefully pushed herself up off the ground, stretching her limbs – it wasn't exactly necessary, because the T-virus had healed her wounds and kept whatever aching would have been there at bay.

"Well… I didn't really have anywhere to go."

The thought of company wasn't exactly appealing, but Alice couldn't honestly leave the girl here by herself. "You can come with me then," she said.

The teen perked up at the offer. "Really?"

"Yeah, you're not staying here by yourself. You'll come with me, I can keep you safe." Or at least, she could keep the girl moderately safe – which was more than most could ask for nowadays. "We're going to need some supplies first. I lost all mine."

"Can I ask what happened to you? When I saw you on the ground out there, you were… well, in really bad shape," K-mart said.

"A group of assholes tried to blow me up," Alice said with a shrug. She glanced around, seeing that they were in what used to be a manager's office, the door barricaded. Without question, she walked over and pulled the desk and chairs away from the door. She didn't know how long she'd been here, but they needed to get a move on. Umbrella would no doubt be looking for her, so she needed to get out of here, and fast.

K-mart was right on her heels. "I've got some food and water stored… there's still some in what used to be the back stock room too."

"Good, we'll need it. We're going to need extra clothes, first aid supplies, and some fire power," Alice nodded.

"I think there's an old gun store up the road; I don't know how much is left in it. Some of the houses still have vehicles sitting outside them too."

So far, Alice was impressed with the girl. She seemed to be on top of things, which made it much easier on her. Obviously the teen had some good survival instincts, especially if she'd been surviving on her own this long. "Why don't you go get that food and water you were talking about while I find some clothes that aren't shredded? Then we'll see if we can get one of those vehicles running, and get the hell out of here."

"Sure thing, I'll meet you back out here," K-mart replied with a nod, turning on a dime to jog back to the office again and gather up her supplies.

Alice went to find herself some suitable clothes. Just about anything that wasn't tattered and singed would do. It didn't take her long to change and she took the opportunity to grab some extra clothes for herself and the teenager she would be traveling with now.

K-mart was already waiting for her, apparently having been well prepared. "You ready?" Alice asked.

The teen offered her a nod. "Yeah, I'm ready… You sure it's safe out there?"

"It'll be safer than staying here and waiting for the undead to catch up," Alice assured her. "Let's get going." She reached down and picked up most of the bags, swinging them over her shoulder before heading back out of the store.

It was strange, how different the town looked now that she didn't have one foot through Death's door. At one time, this would have been a quiet, cozy little town – somewhere she probably would have liked to live. That was in another lifetime though.

"You said some of these houses still have cars sitting outside?" she inquired after a moment.

"Yeah, this way," the teen nodded and stepped ahead to lead the way. They walked a couple blocks through the silent streets before stopping again. "These houses here."

Alice looked over their choices: two different sedans, a Cavalier, a Ranger, and a Jeep. "We'll take this one," she announced, heading for the Jeep. Again, the teen was on her heels. The vehicle was unlocked so they were able to load up their supplies in the back with ease. Getting the Jeep started was another story.

The older woman went to the front seat to see if the keys happened to be inside. It was no surprise that they weren't. "Get in," she instructed the teen. "I'm going to check in the house for some keys real quick."

K-mart nodded and went up to get into the passenger's seat. Alice was quick about checking for keys. The house was locked, but she forced the front door with ease. As she expected, there was a small table just inside the door and a set of keys was sitting there. She snatched them up and headed back outside.

The teen had been waiting patiently and offered a faint smile when Alice joined her in the Jeep. A moment later, the vehicle started up and Alice pulled it out of the driveway. "Where's this gun store you mentioned?" she inquired.

"Take a left," K-mart instructed. "It's about three blocks down. It will be on the right side of the road."

Alice followed the teen's instructions and was pleasantly surprised to find that she was right – there was a gun store exactly where she'd said. She brought the Jeep to a stop right outside the store and killed the engine. "Want to come in and help me?"

"Sure." The teen actually seemed quite pleased to be included and got out of the vehicle.

The two headed inside and Alice was satisfied to see that there was still a fair amount of weapons and ammunition left inside. She found them a couple of duffle bags to fill up – without the nonexistent cargo space of a motorcycle, they could take more with them.

They filled up three duffle bags with a myriad of weapons and ammunition – something for every occasion. The bags got packed into the back of the Jeep with their other supplies and they hit the road.

Alice really didn't have a destination in mind, she'd have to try and find a map when they needed gas again. Now that she had someone traveling with her, she'd have to be even more careful. K-mart's life was now in her hands, it was her job to protect the teen. She couldn't go off on a suicide mission to attack Umbrella again.

Somewhere along the line, an idea struck her – she could take K-mart to Claire's convoy. She knew the teen would be safe with the others, she'd be in infinitely better company, and things would just be better for everyone. That posed more than one problem though. She didn't know where the convoy was or even if they were still alive – even though that lack of knowledge was her own choice.

The two traveled in an easy silence. Since they had got a late start, it wasn't too terribly long before they had to stop for the night.

"We're stopping?" K-mart asked as the vehicle pulled off the road and came to a rest.

"For the night," Alice answered with a nod. "It's safest to stop after dark. You can stretch out in the backseat and get some rest. I'll be just outside keeping watch."

"You aren't going to get any sleep?" What surprised the older woman the most was the fact that K-mart actually sounded concerned.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You just get some rest. You'll be safe while you sleep, I promise." Alice got out of the Jeep after that. She made quick work of finding some kindling and set up a small fire at a safe distance from the vehicle.

Once everything was settled and she made sure K-mart was safely tucked away in the backseat of the Jeep, Alice sat down and leaned back against one of the vehicle's wheels. She didn't feel all that tired, but she swore she could feel sleep sneaking up on her. It wouldn't be much of a problem if she drifted off, she'd sense any threats before they presented themselves, but she didn't like the thought of sleeping while someone else was in her care.

Sometimes, rest just couldn't be helped.

"_Sleeping on the job, huh? I expected more from you."_

_Alice's eyes snapped open and she looked around. She was still leaning back against the Jeep's wheel, the fire was still before her, they were still in the same place… but she wasn't alone. A certain redhead was sitting across the fire from her. "Claire?"_

"_Don't act so surprised, Alice. I thought you might actually be glad to see me," the redhead told her._

"_What are you…? How did you get here?" Alice asked, sitting up a bit more._

"_You're the reason I'm here, so you should know the answer to that," Claire told her with a shrug. "Why haven't you come back? You made your statement, but it's been months."_

"_I'd put the rest of you in danger," the blonde defended herself._

_Claire scoffed at the reply that had been given. "Put us in danger? Then what are you doing to that teenager sleeping in the backseat?"_

_Alice couldn't deny that the redhead was right. She was putting K-mart in just as much danger as she'd be putting the convoy in. "Umbrella is still after me."_

"_True, a missile wouldn't have been ideal to have around the convoy, but I don't think you would have let anything happen to any of us," Claire replied._

_Alice had to frown at that. "How did you know about the missile?"_

"_Come back, Alice. I know you want to, and I want you to. Quit making yourself miserable by being out here alone. You can help us and we can help you." The redhead simply bypassed the question that had been posed._

"_What about Carlos, Jill, and LJ?" Alice asked after a few moments._

_Claire seemed to think it over for a moment before answering. "We'll deal with that when we get to that point."_

"_I don't even know where you are," Alice pointed out._

_That statement earned her a sly grin. "You're smarter than that. Think about the first time we met… what direction were we all heading in?"_

Alice jerked awake, blinking several times. Her gaze immediately went to the opposite side of the fire – no one was there. A disappointed sigh escaped her and she leaned back against the tire again. Obviously Claire had only been a figment of her imagination, but the effect was just the same.

There wasn't much left to the night and the blonde spent it staring at the dying fire. When sunrise peaked over the horizon, she had to will herself to move again. Daylight wasn't a good thing to waste though, so she got up after a few moments and put out the fire before waking the sleeping teenager.

They stayed at their current location long enough for Alice to get K-mart to eat a little something for breakfast. Her next piece of business was to find some fuel. They'd started on half a tank and were down to a quarter – without a map she could only hope they would come across another town soon.

It was about an hour after the sun rose and they were back on the road. The two hadn't spoken much to each other, but the silence wasn't as comfortable as before. Alice's mind was somewhere far away and the teen seemed to have something she wanted to say, but didn't have the courage to voice.

An opportunity for fuel showed itself by mid-morning, for which Alice was very thankful. There was a truck stop off the next highway exit. If luck was on her side – which it usually wasn't – there would be some fuel left.

When the truck stop came into view she saw it was mostly abandoned, but there were some undead wandering about. Out of the corner of her eye she saw K-mart tense up, but there was no reason for it. Alice rolled down her window and slid her magnum from its holster. She didn't even have to stop the Jeep to take out the threats with incredibly accurate shots.

After the last infected fell, Alice pulled the Jeep over to one of the pumps. "I want you to sit tight, okay?" she asked, earning a nod in response. She got out and checked the station for fuel, finding that by some incredible stroke of luck, there was still some left. A quick trip inside the building while the Jeep was fueling up produced a couple of extra gas cans, which got filled up as well. The trip inside also offered up a map – that could have been even more useful than the gas in her opinion.

All told, they barely spent fifteen minutes at the site before they were back on the road. This time, their silence didn't last long. K-mart finally spoke up. "Alice?" she questioned.

The older woman spared her a brief glance. "Yeah?"

There was a few moment's pause, apparently the teen's resolve wasn't exactly a steady one. "Who's Claire?" she finally asked tentatively.

Alice was silent. First she tried to figure out how the teen knew the other woman, but realization struck that she must have said the redhead's name during her dream. Then she had to figure out how to answer the question. "A friend," she eventually offered up.

K-mart had been watching her up to that point, then looked back out the window. "We're heading west? Where are we going?"

This time, Alice didn't need to think about it. "Home."

It was a ridiculous thought, that simply being with someone – especially considering how little contact she'd allowed – could feel more like being home than anything else ever had. Claire was as close as the blonde would ever get to heaven - she knew that for a fact - and no matter how hard she had to fight herself for it, she needed to find her way back home.


	7. Stranger Than Fiction

_Chapter 7: Stranger than Fiction_

_Is this what you wanted to be  
Alone standing by yourself  
Is this all you wanted to be  
Or was that a cry for help_

Alice and K-mart had been on the road for two weeks. There was absolutely no sign of the convoy that they were looking for either. It was a long shot, finding them again, but an effort had to be made. It wasn't even that disheartening, there was still a lot of land for them to cover and that kept hope – something now foreign to the older woman – alive.

One of the first things Alice went specifically looking for was a radio. If she could catch the convoy's broadcast again, that would narrow down her search area. It had taken a couple of days, but while they were crossing the Midwest again, she found one. Every night after that, she listened to it until her eyes were too heavy to keep open.

Tonight would be no different. They had made a stop for supplies that morning. Usually Alice wasn't overly concerned with having enough supplies on hand, but she didn't want the teenager to have to go without. She had promised to take care of K-mart and that meant keeping the most basic of necessities on hand.

"I'm beginning to think you really have no idea where you're going," K-mart suddenly spoke up, looking over to the older woman. There was the faintest of grins on her features – she was teasing the other.

Alice quirked a brow and briefly let her attention move from the road to the girl in the passenger's seat. "Excuse me?" she asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "I know exactly where we're going."

"Oh? And where is that?"

"We're _going_ to find a convoy of people I met a couple of months back," Alice answered before turning her attention to the road again. The sun was beginning to set, so they would need to stop soon.

K-mart scoffed, "That is _not_ an answer. We're just wandering the countryside with absolutely no direction and you're trying to play it off as looking for some group of people that may or may not be out here."

Alice just shook her head. "That's it, no dinner for you. Lights will be out before dark too and you're not going out tonight."

"_So_ unfair," the teen managed to say before breaking out into laughter.

The older woman was tempted to share in the laugh, but didn't allow herself to. She surveyed the area before pulling off to the side of the road. "We'll stay here the night and get moving again in the morning."

"I know the drill." K-mart got out of the Jeep briefly. It was only long enough to move back and climb into the backseat so she could stretch out and get some sleep.

Alice got out of the vehicle, but she was going to set up a small camp outside and settle herself in for the night. Her only company outside was a fire and the radio she kept with her now. She mostly listened to the open airwaves at night, but every now and again she flipped it on during the day.

Now, she turned on the device and set it next to her. The usual silence greeted her, but she tried not to let it disappoint her too much. There were still plenty of places for her to search; there were still plenty of chances for her to find the convoy again.

She allowed herself a few hours of sleep that night. Somehow, her teenage companion always knew when she didn't rest and made sure she heard about it throughout the day. They hadn't once spoken about how Alice managed to go without rest, eating properly, and healed so quickly. K-mart just accepted it and moved on, which the older woman was incredibly thankful for.

By morning, she had to switch out the radio's battery. That was something else she made sure they had plenty of. Without batteries, the radio wouldn't work and that was just something she couldn't have. The radio would help her find Claire, it needed to work.

Once again, they hit the road. Alice had changed their direction to the southwest, because they had been further north than where she'd left the convoy. K-mart was listening to a CD player they had come across, so things were very quiet for them through the day.

The Jeep ate up miles upon miles of highway, but Alice didn't feel like they were getting very far. Patience was never something she'd been good at, but it was being forced on her. There was nothing she could do to change the monotonous miles of land.

They stopped just after noon for a short break. Having a chance to get out and stretch their legs was a good way to break up the day. Alice made sure that K-mart got in a small meal and some water during the hour they stopped for. Once the hour was up, Alice herded the teen back into the Jeep and they were on the road again.

"So where are we?" K-mart asked, unable to stand the silence for very long since she was no longer listening to music.

"Utah," the older woman answered. "I'd say we've made it about halfway through the state, maybe a little more."

"And where are we going?" the questioned after a moment.

"We're going wherever that convoy is." It wasn't a great answer, but it was all Alice had at the moment. She didn't know where the convoy was, but that was where she wanted to end up.

They lapsed into an easy silence after that. A little bit of conversation sustained the teen for quite some time.

It was nearing sunset again and while Alice started looking for a good place to stop, she went ahead and turned on the radio. She didn't know why, but she had the compulsion to get an early start on listening. This time, she wasn't disappointed.

"_- convoy. Is anybody out there?"_

Immediately, she recognized the voice that crackled across the airwaves: Mikey. Claire and the others were close.

"Who was that?" K-mart questioned, looking over at the radio.

"That's the convoy we're looking for. See? I told you that I knew where I was going," Alice said with a grin.

"I think you just got lucky," the teen stated with a nod.

Alice shook her head, but kept her attention on the road. Now that they were within range to pick up the broadcast, the convoy had to be close. She didn't want to make the mistake of missing them.

A few moments of radio silence passed before it came back to life again. "_This is Claire Redfield's convoy; current location is the Desert Trails Motel. Is anybody out there?_"

It was comforting, to know that the convoy was still Claire's. That meant the redhead was still alive. Finding the group of people without her could have been more than the blonde was able to handle.

"K, pull out the map and see if you can find that motel on it." The older woman had taken to shortening K-mart's name to a single letter because the nickname sounded much better than calling her a retail store.

The teenager nodded and reached into the glove compartment before her, pulling out their map. It was fairly big and detailed, which was good in this case. If the motel was on the map, they wouldn't have to guess and check which direction to head in. After a few moments of searching their general area on the map, K-mart's attention moved back to the road. "Take this turn."

They were almost passed that turn. Alice took the corner quite sharp, but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "Thanks for the warning."

"You're welcome," the teen smiled brightly before looking back to the map in her hands. "This will take us straight to the hotel. It will be off to the west side, a ways back from the road."

"How much further?"

"I'd say just about ten miles," K-mart said after a moment.

The sun would set by the time they made it to the motel even though it wasn't that long of a trip. That was alright, they'd just give the convoy a little start by showing up unannounced – because that was incredibly safe. Hopefully they would try and find out who was intruding upon their camp before opening fire.

They were little more than half a mile out when the teenager spoke again. "What's that sound?"

Alice had heard it further back on the road. Apparently they weren't the only intruders at the camp – something big must have happened in the few minutes between the broadcast and finding the motel. "Gunfire," she answered. "When we stop, I want you to stay in the vehicle. Understand?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw K-mart nod.

Without a second thought, Alice sped up and pulled off the road. Bursts of light from guns being fired lit up a decent sized camp – the convoy had grown quite a bit in her absence. Though she kept the Jeep away from the rest of the vehicles, she pulled into the camp. Before getting out, she reached into the backseat and grabbed a pistol and set it on the center console; it was a silent command for the teen to protect herself if necessary.

After that, she was out of the vehicle. People were shouting, there was screaming, and shots rang out all around the area. It didn't take long to figure out just what was causing all the commotion; she glanced down and saw the upper half of what had once been a full infected body dragging itself through the sand toward her. There was a bullet hole straight through its head – these things were too far gone for a shot to the head to do anything.

"Something else breached the perimeter!" That was Mikey's voice shouting.

"Well what the fuck was it?" And that was Claire shouting back.

_I'm something alright_, Alice thought to herself with a smirk. There was no time for knives or guns. These infected were too far gone – severing spinal cords would be the only way to stop them with weapons. The only other option was burning them.

A quick glance around and she counted at least three dozen undead, but she knew there was more than that because even those that fell to the ground were still on the move. Alice's attention flickered to a nearby campfire – just what she needed.

The blonde let her eyes close and for a brief moment they flickered with the signs of R.E.M. When her eyes snapped open again, her pupils were dilated as she focused on the campfire.

The flames roared to new life, bursting forth from the small pit they had been contained in. They splintered apart and rammed into the closest undead with enough force to knock the decaying corpses back a few feet. With Alice's control, the inferno spread from infected body to infected body like a fiery web.

Though the world seemed to be a thousand miles away, she registered that the gunfire was dying away. She couldn't let herself get distracted though, one mishap could hurt someone in the convoy. There were some undead she couldn't see, so she had to rely on feeling where they were instead.

It only took her a few minutes and by the time she relaxed and let go of her control over the flames, there were upwards of forty smoldering piles as the flames did what weapons couldn't. Alice didn't expect a kind welcome, but at least she'd managed to help the convoy.

Her attention turned toward the Jeep as she heard the door shut. K-mart was coming out to join her now that the danger was burning away – she'd left the gun in the vehicle because she didn't like handling weapons. "So… that was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen," the girl commented as she walked up beside Alice.

The older woman didn't have time to reply, because Claire's voice cut into their would-be conversation. "Next time, you might want to announce yourself first. You could have been shot." The redhead's expression was unreadable, but her tone suggested she was far less than happy. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass?" Alice suggested.

The answer earned her a glare before Claire noticed the teenager. "Who's this?"

"K-mart," the teen answered for herself before Alice could speak up.

"K-mart?" Claire repeated. "Not a common name." Her comment only earned a shrug in response from the girl. She turned her attention back to the other woman after that. "So what are you doing here?"

"I picked up your broadcast," Alice replied. "We were in the area and came this way."

"You just happened to be in the area?" the redhead asked, quirking a suspicious brow.

Alice was quiet for a moment, juggling with telling Claire the truth and making something up. "No," she eventually offered up. "We didn't just _happen_ to be in the area."

K-mart was watching the exchange with interest. She hadn't seen the blonde woman interact with anyone else, but she could tell there was some sort of tension between the two. What it was, she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Claire studied the blonde for a moment, trying to figure out the answer to her question before she actually asked it. "You were looking for us?"

Alice only offered a nod in response as Carlos and Jill came up behind the redhead. Though she knew those two and LJ would still be with the convoy, she didn't like the fact that she was faced with her past – especially when her past was so grudging and unforgiving.

"I suggest you send her packing," the black-haired woman said. "She'll put all of us in danger."

Again, K-mart spoke before Alice could respond. "She just saved you," the teen huffed indignantly as she defended the older woman. "You should be thanking her."

"It's alright, K," Alice said, putting a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"No, it's not." This time, K-mart was actually arguing, not playing. "I saw how those things _weren't_ dying before we got here, then they started dying when you burned them."

"Foolish girl, you don't even know what you're talking about," Jill said.

"_Enough_," Alice cut in sharply. She wasn't about to have the other woman's venom turned toward K-mart. "You want to pick a fight, you pick it with me, Jill. Leave the girl alone."

"We already saw how that would turn out," Jill shot back.

Alice didn't want the argument to go any further with K-mart standing here. She let her attention turn to the teen for a moment. "Go back to the Jeep. I want you to get some food and eat."

K-mart was reluctant to listen this time. After some hesitation and a reassuring nod from the older woman, she finally acquiesced and went back to the vehicle they'd been traveling in.

"She trusts you," Carlos observed – he'd been silent up to that point. "You should have warned her how misguided that is."

"Stop it," Claire suddenly demanded, turning to the two that were still newcomers to the convoy in her eyes. "You don't like Alice, that is plain as fucking day. She _did_ just save all of our lives, so lay the hell off and go do something useful."

Jill and Carlos were temporarily stunned, but listened to the order without another word. Even Alice was surprised by the small outburst – though she was grateful for Claire defending her.

When they were alone once more, the redhead studied Alice again. At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed in the nearly three months they'd been apart. Upon closer inspection, that initial observation was proven wrong. "Is this what you really wanted to be?" she finally asked.

The two migrated towards the Jeep so they could speak more privately – it was far enough from the others to not be overhead by anyone in the convoy, but still close enough for Claire to keep an eye on everyone. Alice told the teen to roll up the window under the guise that the chilling desert night would see her catching a cold if she didn't.

Alice had absolutely no idea to what Claire was referring. "What are you talking about?"

"Or was leaving some sort of over the top, unanswerable cry for help?" Claire questioned the blonde again.

"A cry for help? That wasn't… No, it wasn't a cry for help. I was doing what I could to protect the convoy," Alice said.

Claire didn't seem to be buying that - not at all. "If you wanted to protect us from yourself, you wouldn't have stayed as long as you did," she pointed out.

Alice couldn't deny she had a point – of course she did. It was actually rather annoying. If Claire had a point, then she couldn't as easily defend herself. "You don't understand," she finally offered up.

"You've said that before." Just like last time, Claire wasn't backing down. "What happened between you and the others?"

It wasn't something the blonde wanted to recount. She hated what she had been forced to do and admitting what happened just reinforced the fact that Umbrella had made her spill innocent blood. "The last time I was with them – no… It goes further back than that." Alice paused a moment, shaking her head. "The second time Umbrella got their hands on me, they infected me with another strand of the T-virus and inserted a neural dampener – it's an implant they can use to literally take control of me."

The redhead was listening intently, a bit surprised that Alice was actually talking about it. "Take control? As in… make you do what they want?"

"Exactly. With the dampener, all they need to do is have a satellite in the right place and send a powerful enough signal from it to reach me. The first time was the only time they've managed." Alice looked down, incredibly interested in the sand beneath them. "We were with a group of people that was trying to stop Umbrella and the spreading infection. I had no idea the corporation could take control like that, but one night that's exactly what they did and a faction of their soldiers stormed the building everyone was in. I could see everything that happened, everyone I hurt and killed… but I couldn't stop myself. I thought I'd killed Jill and Carlos; that was what Umbrella ordered me to do."

"But they don't have control of you now," Claire pointed out.

"No," Alice agreed. "After everything was nearly over, I got angry enough to break Umbrella's hold on me. I disappeared; fell completely off the grid so that they couldn't find me – until I wanted to be found."

"Wanted to be found?" Claire echoed, not understanding.

"Umbrella took _everything_ from me: my friends, my life, everything. I'm not even human anymore-"

"- I don't believe that," the redhead cut in.

Alice shook her head. "I'm not. They infected me and my DNA bonded with the virus – I'm not human… I stayed quiet for a couple of months after the one time they took control of me, then I started attacking Umbrella complexes."

"By yourself?" Claire assumed. "But why?"

Alice thought the question over, trying to find a suitable way to answer. "I want revenge for what they did to me… and for what they did to the world."

Honestly, the redhead could understand – at least to an extent. If she were capable, she would want revenge for all those she had lost and everything the world had lost as well. But revenge and hate were like poison, especially when she didn't think Alice directed it all externally. "Revenge is barren of itself: it is the dreadful food it feeds on; its delight is murder, and its end is despair."

Alice quirked a brow when the other woman spoke. She recognized the quote. "Friedrich Schiller," she observed. "But Umbrella needs to pay for what they did."

"I never said that they didn't," Claire replied. "I don't think you need to be punishing yourself though."

The blonde was actually surprised by the other's words. "I… I'm not punishing myself." She wasn't comfortable with their current subject and decided to change it. "I'll leave in the morning so that there won't be any problems between myself and the others. Just let the girl stay with the convoy?"

Claire moved closer to Alice before speaking. "See? There it is," she said. "You're isolating yourself – that's exactly how you're punishing yourself." She trailed off for a moment, reaching out and taking the blonde's hand. "I don't want you to leave, so… I'll let K-mart stay if you stay too."

When Alice opened her mouth, obviously ready to argue, the redhead continued, "And I swear to God, if I hear one argument, I'll kick your ass."

Alice was incredibly amused by the threat – especially because she knew Claire would make good on it. "I'll stay," she agreed after a moment.

"If you're just saying that to get me off your case and turn up missing in the morning… I will hunt you down and drag you back kicking and screaming," Claire added to her warning.

The blonde didn't need any further convincing. Claire wanted her to stay, that was reason enough for her. Staying meant dealing with her past, likely even seeking forgiveness from those that she hurt - but maybe, just maybe she could manage it.

* * *

**Longest chapter so far... you should return the favor by reviewing.**


	8. Bad Company

_Chapter 8: Bad Company_

_I was born, a shotgun in my hands_

_Behind the gun, I'll make my final stand_

_Yeah and that's why they call me_

_Bad company, I can't deny_

_Bad, bad company 'til the day I die_

Being back with the convoy was even more uncomfortable for Alice than it had been before. Though the biting comments from Carlos and Jill were held at bay, their menacing looks held just as much venom as words ever could.

Thankfully she had her teenage charge as company. Though K-mart took easily to convoy life, she still spent most of her time with Alice. The two traveled in the Jeep together, and the teen still slept in the vehicle's backseat at night. Even if she didn't come right out and admit it, Alice was grateful for the girl's presence.

The convoy had doubled in size since Alice had left them. For being a fairly large group – especially considering the state of the world – they were getting along incredibly well. The blonde was absolutely certain most of the group's success could be attributed to Claire.

Alice and K-mart had spent a few days with the convoy already. There was a heavy tension whenever the group stopped and they were all in one place. Alice tried to keep her distance, but between Claire and K-mart, it wasn't exactly easy. She was only trying to avoid any problems with Carlos, Jill, and LJ – at least, that was what she told herself. It could very well have been that she simply didn't want to come face to face with her past.

"Alice, _come on_," the teen grumbled, grabbing the older woman by the wrist and attempting to drag her away from the Jeep.

"K, I already told you, I'm not hungry. I'm not going to eat," Alice said.

That didn't stop the teenager from tugging at her arm again. "I don't even _know_ the last time I saw you eat something."

The blonde woman couldn't help the faint grin that tugged at the corner of her mouth. "When did you turn into my mother?"

"When you stopped taking care of yourself," K-mart shot back quickly with just enough attitude to make the comment amusing. "Don't make me go tell Claire on you."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" The teen finally stopped yanking at her arm. "Well… we'll just see about that." She turned on her heel and walked away from the vehicle to go and find the convoy leader.

Alice merely shook her head, thoroughly amused with the teen's concern – but not ungrateful. K-mart seemed to catch on very quickly about when she could and couldn't press an issue. The two had a comfortable understanding, which was a lot more than Alice could say a few weeks ago.

There were others in the group that she didn't get along so well with – and it looked like they planned on double teaming her. It was an unfair tactic, but the blonde had honestly expected it. She didn't try to move away or busy herself with some meaningless task, she merely watched as Carlos and Jill approached her.

"You haven't turned tail and run yet," Jill observed. "How noble of you."

"I know you two are angry with me, you have every right to be," Alice told them.

"I can't imagine why these people trust you. If they knew what you've done, how easily you can go back and forth between sides," Carlos shook his head. "They'd have let us kill you from the start."

"Just let me explain," Alice said. "That night, the ambush… it wasn't me."

Jill cut in with a harsh, mirthless laugh. "It wasn't you? It sure looked like you, especially when you got close enough to stab me. I still live with the pain every day, Alice."

The blonde never thought an explanation would be easy to give, but this was much harder than she'd ever imagined. "While Umbrella continued their experimenting on me in Detroit, they implanted a neural dampener. If they have a satellite in the right place, they can take control of me. That's what happened with the ambush. They activated the dampener – I had no control over my actions."

"We're supposed to believe that?" Carlos asked in disbelief. Actually, he wouldn't put something like that past Umbrella, but it was still hard to wrap his head around. He, Jill, and LJ had carried a lot of anger and blame toward Alice for well over a year now. Not only had she helped the corporation and nearly killed them, but then she up and disappeared. "Why are you here now if they can control you?"

"I broke their hold," Alice answered after a moment.

Before she could continue, Jill interrupted once more. "Broke their hold? You couldn't have done that any sooner? Maybe before killing Angie, dozens of others, and nearly doing the same to us?"

"I tried," Alice told her. "I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't. I'm sorry for what happened; you'll never know just how much I regret what I did. Believe me, I know how dangerous I am, and I won't let anything like that happen again."

"But there's no guarantee," Carlos pointed out. "You did it once, _Umbrella_ did it once. If you couldn't stop yourself the first time… how could you stop yourself if they tried again?"

Alice was silent for a moment, thinking the question over before answering. "Because I'm not giving them the chance to try again. After I left, I started taking out various complexes, thinning out their resources to slow them down."

"You think that will make up for what you did? It's too little, too late, Alice," Jill told her.

Another voice made its way into the conversation. "Everything okay here?" Claire asked as she approached with K-mart not far behind.

Carlos and Jill almost immediately backed off. Apparently they didn't want to get themselves in trouble with the redheaded leader – especially when trouble would likely get them kicked out of the convoy. "Yeah, fine," the man offered up with a nod.

"Go get something to eat," Claire suggested. She waited patiently until Jill and Carlos were gone before turning her attention to Alice. "So… I heard you don't plan on eating anything tonight and that you haven't eaten for a couple days now?"

Alice gave K-mart a pointed look, but the teen just flashed her the ultimate innocent smile. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm not hungry." And even if the blonde had been hungry before, she wasn't now.

"You really should eat something," Claire told her.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," Alice shook her head.

"Has she always been this stubborn with you?" the redhead looked over to the teen now.

K-mart nodded vigorously when she was questioned. "Sleeping and eating are the only things we argue about."

"Sleeping too? I'm surprised you put up with it for this long."

"It hasn't been easy, believe me."

Alice merely rolled her eyes as she listened to the other two talk about her. "Good try, but it's not going to work. I said I'm fine and that's that."

Claire quirked a brow and glanced back to the other woman. "That's that, huh? No, it's not. Come on." She reached over and grabbed Alice by the wrist much like K-mart had, but this time the blonde didn't resist. Claire pulled her over to the truck that the convoy kept their food supplies in before stopping – the teen was right behind them.

"Ladies," the man that was passing out food greeted them. Alice had learned his name was Otto and he definitely wasn't one she'd expect to have survived this long.

"What do you have for us tonight?" Claire asked him.

"Let me see here." The man turned back into the truck and grabbed a few cans. "Mixed vegetables, clam chowder, and… I think this one is chili." He handed them each a can as he spoke.

Once Alice had a can of food, she fully planned on going back to the Jeep, but Claire grabbed her again before she could get too far. "Don't make me go looking for a leash next time we find a place to raid for supplies," she said.

Behind them, the teen turned a bit red at the obvious innuendo behind the leader's word. Alice merely quirked an intrigued brow. "I don't think that would go over very well," she replied. "And you're setting a bad example for young ears."

"Come on, you're coming back to the Hummer with me," the redhead stated, dragging the other woman along just like she had to get food.

"I'm not a two year old," Alice complained, even though she wasn't resisting. "You don't have to lead me around everywhere."

"If I don't, you'll run off, so this is necessary." Claire finally let go of the blonde once they were back to the Hummer. "Now I can make sure you eat like you're supposed to."

"Are you going to watch me sleep too?" Alice questioned.

"If I have to, yes."

The blonde rolled her eyes once more, shaking her head. She was actually glad for the concern that Claire showed, it was a very nice change of pace. Since the redhead was so adamant about it, she went ahead and ate the food that had been given to her. K-mart and Claire talked through most of the meal they were sharing; she was content to just listen to them.

When the sun began to dip below the horizon, Claire sent the teen to bed with the promise that she wouldn't keep Alice up too late. K-mart headed back to the Jeep, still unwilling to give up such a familiar spot to sleep.

As the rest of the convoy settled in for the night, the two women built up a campfire to keep watch over everyone for a little while. They sat in silence, watching the flames – just enjoying the quiet comfort of each other's company.

Eventually, Claire broke their silence. "I missed you, Alice."

The blonde didn't respond right away, she didn't even look away from the fire. "I missed you too," she finally offered up.

"You didn't have to leave, you know." Though Alice and K-mart had been with the convoy for a few days, Claire had wanted to make sure the other woman was sticking around before bringing up the subject.

"Maybe… but at that point, I couldn't stay." Alice knew it wasn't what the redhead wanted to hear, but it was the truth.

They lapsed into another short silence, neither woman knowing what to say. "I don't want you to leave again. If you need a reason to stay… then stay for me, stay for K-mart."

Alice looked over to Claire this time when the other woman spoke. "That's not fair," she shook her head.

"It might not be fair, but I don't want you to leave," the redhead replied.

"I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." Alice couldn't promise she wouldn't leave again, but she didn't plan on it at the moment.

"I guess I'll just have to take what I can get then." The redhead didn't like the idea of Alice being ready to just up and leave without notice, but the blonde was here right now – and that was what mattered.

Alice actually shifted to sit closer to Claire. They hadn't been that far apart, but they hadn't exactly been close either. Now they were much closer, almost touching as they sat together. "I want to kiss you," the blonde said after a moment.

Claire looked over and studied the other woman briefly. "Well, I'm not going to stop you."

With that reassurance, Alice brought a hand up and let her fingertips trail ever so gently across the redhead's cheek before she leaned in and let her lips brush against the other woman's. The gentleness that Alice showed came as a surprise to Claire, but was welcome nonetheless. She'd witnessed firsthand the sort of intense violence the blonde was capable of – this was a side she hadn't seen before. She wondered if anyone had.

This kiss wasn't like their first. It was gentle and lingered for a long, comfortable moment. Eventually Alice pulled back and studied the other woman. "You should get some rest. It's starting to get late."

"I'm not the one with a teenage babysitter," Claire teased her. "So I'm not going to be the one getting yelled at for being out too late."

"Good point… I really don't want to sit through _another_ lecture," Alice nodded.

Claire stood up, pulling the blonde up with her. "Then I suppose I'll let you go back to the Jeep, so long as you're here in the morning."

"I will be," Alice assured her with a nod. "Can I get one more kiss for the road?"

The redhead thought it over for a moment before shaking her head. "You can have it in the morning, that way I know you'll be here."

Alice shook her head, but agreed to Claire's terms. She headed back to the Jeep, finding that K-mart was already sleeping in the backseat before settling in herself.

Morning came far too soon, as it usually did. However, Claire didn't make good on their bargain. The redhead merely offered her a playful smirk and a wink before they got back on the road. It seemed the other woman wasn't going to play fair, but Alice just found it all the more intriguing.

Though the convoy wasn't lacking supplies at the moment, they all decided it would be smart to stop and have a look around when they came across a storage unit lot. There was no one left to claim what was inside them and they might actually find something useful in the units, so it was worth a shot.

They all broke off into pairs to ransack the units in the lot. Since K-mart decided to go with Claire, Alice wandered off by herself. Most of the stuff they were finding inside was completely unhelpful – things that someone once held dear, but were now sore reminders of what the world was lacking. Old furniture, eccentric collections, and even old movie memorabilia had to be left to rot – there was no place left for it now.

Alice had checked and been disappointed by half a dozen units when she finally stumbled upon something of worth. The next unit she aimed to break into obviously had something special in it, because it had more than one lock, unlike the others. That didn't slow her down in the least and when she opened up the door, she was thrilled to see what was inside.

There was only one thing inside the garage – a motorcycle. Alice stepped inside and looked over the beautiful piece of machinery. It was lava red and black, sleek, and was obviously built for speed. The previous owner had taken great care of the bike; there wasn't a scratch or smudge on it.

"_Hello_, gorgeous," the blonde said, running a hand over the cool metal. "Today must be my lucky day."

She glanced around and found a single nail in the wall, supporting a set of keys. It didn't take long for her to snatch them up and start up the bike. The roar of the engine was like thunder inside the small space and it made her heart beat a little bit harder. Yes, this was definitely her lucky day.

Alice eased the bike out of the garage, smirking when it caught most everyone's attention. All she cared about was a certain redhead's attention. "Hey Claire!" she called over to the other woman, whose jaw literally dropped when she saw the motorcycle. "Look what I found."

The convoy leader quickly made her way over, thoroughly admiring the bike. "Oh my God," she said. "That thing is gorgeous."

"My thoughts exactly," Alice replied with a smile.

"It's a Yamaha YZF-R1, one of the fastest bikes they made before the end of the world," Claire informed the blonde. "It'll get up to 186 miles per hour with the right person on it."

Alice didn't know if she was more impressed with Claire's knowledge of the bike or the fact that she was sitting on such a powerful machine. "Sounds like my kind of reckless."

"You think you're keeping it?" the redhead asked, quirking a brow.

"Finders keepers, Claire, and I found this baby first." Alice merely smirked when she saw Claire pout a bit before putting back on the leader personality.

"You'd better take good care of that thing." Apparently the redhead wasn't going to argue, but Alice would make sure to take her on at least one ride, since she'd shown so much interest.

The units offered up little more in the way of useful supplies after finding the bike. They got a few more weapons and some ammunition, and a couple more radios, but that was it. Still, being able to take some time for nostalgia seemed to be a break that they all needed.

When they hit the road again, Alice was one her newfound motorcycle. K-mart decided to switch it up and ride with Claire, and a woman named Betty had taken to driving the Jeep. Even though the blonde refused to leave the motorcycle behind – and Claire whole-heartedly agreed with her – they simply couldn't give up the storage space and protection the Jeep offered the group.

Alice wanted nothing more than to really open up the bike and push its limits, see if Claire was right in saying it could go so fast, but she restrained herself. She doubted the rest of the convoy would appreciate her show boating. Plus, she didn't want to make the redhead jealous – she'd seen the spark in Claire's eyes when she was talking about the motorcycle.

That night when they stopped, she managed to talk Claire into shirking her leader responsibilities for just a little while to take a ride. It was under the guise that they needed to scout out the area and see if there was somewhere nearby they could stop and rest for a day or two, just to get them off the road for a little while.

With Claire on the motorcycle behind her, Alice gave the bike a thorough workout. She wanted to know just what the 180 horsepower that the machine was packing could do. However, she wasn't reckless about it. Risking the redhead's safety wasn't an option, so Alice kept careful control of what she was doing.

They spent nearly two hours out on the road together and it was well after dark when they finally returned to the camp that had been set up. While the blonde had hoped they could have taken advantage of the time they'd spent together – completely alone – she was not disappointed when they got back. Claire quietly tugged her over behind the Hummer and made up for the kiss she'd denied Alice earlier.

It took some convincing on the redhead's part, but eventually she got Alice to agree to sleep in the Hummer that night. She didn't want the other woman sleeping out on the sand – which she was sure would happen since Betty had taken over the Jeep. K-mart was sleeping in the backseat, but Claire silently moved some supplies around in the very back of the vehicle, making just enough room for herself and Alice.

"Come on," she said softly, climbing in.

"There's not going to be enough room for the both of us," Alice quietly pointed out.

Claire rolled her eyes, reaching over and tugging Alice inside with her. "Yeah, you're going to have to touch me. Get over it," she said before shutting the back as gently as she could so as not to disturb the sleeping teen. "I know you want to anyway."

Once they settled down, Claire's back was pressed firmly to the blonde's front and Alice had a protective arm wrapped around the other woman. Never had Alice fallen asleep so quickly or slept as soundly as she did that night with the redhead in her arms. She found that waking up to find Claire still there was even better than falling asleep with her.

Even though they had gone to bed later than the rest, Alice and Claire were up earlier than everyone else. Between the two of them, they had the camp cleaned up and ready to go by the time the others woke so they could get a good start on the day. After all, they wanted to find somewhere that might be safe for a day, maybe two. If they got an early start, it gave them a chance at finding something sooner.

Much to Claire's irritation, Alice had taken the lead on the motorcycle and had a good bit of distance between herself and the convoy. It wasn't that she didn't think the blonde could handle it if they hit trouble, she just didn't want Alice to face it alone – too much of the other's woman time and too many fights had been on her own. Whether Alice wanted it or not, Claire was in her corner ready to fight right alongside her no matter the foe.

When they hit mid-morning, the convoy was coming upon the area that they had figured might actually be safe. There was nothing for miles around, no infected that they had seen – it seemed like a pretty safe bet. Claire reached over and grabbed her radio. "Hey, Speed Racer, I'm thinking we might stop soon."

Alice had on a headset, so she was able to hear the convoy leader. She reached up to press the button that would allow her to respond. "Sounds good." Though they'd come out when it was almost completely dark, she recognized the area from the night before.

The blonde had figured they'd go just a little bit further, but that was cut short. From somewhere over the horizon, a handful of helicopters appeared and she brought her motorcycle to a skidding halt.

Claire was on the radio again. "Stop! Everybody stop!"

They hadn't been ready for the sudden break and all the cars came to loud stops – luckily none of them ran into each other. "What the hell is that?" Mikey's voice came over the radio.

"Trouble," Alice answered simply. There was still some distance between her and the convoy, and she looked back to them. "Claire, get out of here, get the others out of here."

"No way, I'm not leaving you here," the leader stated.

Alice had expected an argument, but really wished Claire would just listen. "You have to go. Those are Umbrella choppers – I don't want anyone getting caught in the crossfire."

"And what about you? You're going to get caught in the crossfire," Claire pointed out.

"Claire, please, we don't have time for this." Alice looked back to the approaching choppers. She could see missiles being armed. "Shit… Claire, you have to go! Now!"

This time, she wasn't waiting for a response. She grabbed the motorcycle's handles and punched the gas, burning rubber until the wheel found traction again and the bike lurched forward. She pulled the headset from her ear when too many voices poured out of it, needing to concentrate on the task at hand to make sure nothing got past her.

Two helicopters launched missiles at the same time, both aimed directly at her – at least that way she knew where they were heading. Her pupils dilated and she used her telekinetic abilities to break one of the missile's flaps, which made it veer off course and explode harmlessly off the side of the road. She brought out one of her pistols and fired a couple of shots at the other missile, creating a mid-air explosion.

Alice's attackers weren't deterred by the ease with which she was dispatching their weapons. The modified Apache Attack helicopters they had carried plenty of weapons, they were just getting started.

This time, all five helicopters fired at once – a couple of them shooting multiple missiles. Alice had no idea how she was going to stop eight projectiles at once, but she didn't have much choice in the matter. Her pupils dilated again and she used a telekinetic wave to push one of the missiles off track, driving it straight into another one. The explosion ate up not only the two rockets involved, but a few of the others within range.

By the time she had finished with those two, it was too late for her to dismantle the others. One impacted the street to her left, causing the motorcycle to fishtail until she could regain control. Another crashed into the pavement before her, followed quickly by another to her left. It took some serious fancy maneuvering and nearly laying down the bike to avoid a direct hit.

Alice knew she needed to take out the attack choppers. Each one was armed with sixteen missiles – she couldn't dodge and blow up every single one of them. That put her and the convoy at too much risk. She hadn't even been able to see if Claire had taken her advice and left, she could only trust that the leader had done what was right for her group.

The next barrage of missiles was even bigger than the last. They were trying to overwhelm her without using all their resources at once. Instead of eight, there were a dozen rockets let loose at her.

"Shit," the blonde swore under her breath. Claire was going to be pissed, but there was only one thing Alice could think of to put a dent in the incoming volley. She mustered up all the willpower she could and flipped off the bike, yanking it upward to meet the missiles head on. The resulting blast took out more than half the rockets and threw most of the others off their intended trajectories.

One was still on its path and Alice knew she didn't have time to get out of the way, so she decided on the next best thing. In an incredibly stupid move, rather than getting out of the way, the blonde attempted to catch the missile. It took very precise timing to grab the rocket just right and even better timing to swing around and let go of it to make sure it didn't literally blow up in her face.

Somehow, she managed the amazing feat. The missile had been in her hands all of about three seconds, but in that time she managed to swing it around and use its own force to send back at the helicopters. The choppers attempted to scatter when their weapon came back against them, but one was caught dead on with it.

As the aircraft exploded, flying debris caught two of the other choppers and sent them spiraling to the ground – effectively putting a fiery end to them as well. Apparently they'd been expecting the Hellfire missiles to work again, because the others didn't stick around long after three helicopters had been taken down. The two remaining turned around and headed back in the direction they came, leaving Alice with a very strong suspicion that there was a complex nearby. With a little bit of thought, she remembered something about a large Hive in Death Valley. If they were still packing that kind of heat, then the facility had to still be active.

When she finally turned around, she saw that the convoy hadn't moved at all. The only difference was that Claire was standing outside of the Hummer, arms crossed over her chest. Maybe she shouldn't have given the motorcycle such a violent death – then again, such vehicles didn't seem to have a very long life expectancy around her.

Alice headed back to where the other vehicles were sitting, waiting for her. Even though her actions had been heroic, she knew there was a lecture – probably more than one – to endure.

When she got close enough, she saw that the look on Claire's face was one that she already knew far too well – the glare of death. She wasn't sure if it was born of the fact she had taken on something so dangerous by herself or if it was the death of such a fine motorcycle that had the redhead upset. "You know… you come off as the big, bad wolf, then you go and do something so incredibly stupid and put yourself in danger… Not sure if you heard, but that's not what the wolf would do."

Alice merely shrugged at that. "I just figured if I didn't save you all, you'd kill me."

"Damn right, I would," Claire confirmed with a nod. "I'm wise to you though. You play at being the sinner, but we all just saw the saint plain as day. You wouldn't have put yourself on the line like that otherwise."

The blonde rolled her eyes, playing it off as being unimpressed by the praise when she was actually uncomfortable with it. "What can I say? Sometimes the big, bad wolf comes along dressed in sheep's clothing."

"Yeah?" Claire's signature look of death faded away and was replaced by a faint, but knowing smile. "And from what I hear… sometimes it's the knight in shining armor that comes along dressed as a wolf."

"Claire, don't. Please," Alice shook her head. "I'm not a saint, I'm not a knight. Don't argue, because you're going to agree with me… I want you to take the others and go back the way we came."

The redhead stared at the other woman for a long moment in disbelief. "You're leaving? Again?" For as far as they had gotten in the past few days, Alice was just going to leave again?

"There's another Umbrella complex not far from here," Alice explained, trying desperately to make Claire understand her reasoning. "If they could send out five of those helicopters, that means the facility has to be active still. There's a good chance I could end a lot of this and make amends for what has happened to the world."

"Revenge is like poison… it's going to hurt you as much as it hurts the people you're after." Claire knew she wasn't likely to change the other's mind, but she had to try.

"Then it's a good thing poison doesn't affect me anymore. I won't take one of the vehicles, I just want my weapons. It's not that far of a walk and even with a vehicle, I know I wouldn't catch them by surprise." That was one of the things that had made her guerilla war with Umbrella so successful – having the element of surprise on her side.

Going in without it, not even she could guarantee the results.


	9. Part 1: My Own Hell

**First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for how long this update took and how incredibly short it is. I know that no one is going to be happy with it. This is just the first part of Chapter 9, there will be a second part to it - and I promise, it will be as epic as Alice vs. missile-armed helicopters. I just can't write the rest of it right now. Hopefully this will tide you over.**

* * *

_Chapter 9_

_Part 1: My Own Hell  
My thoughts speak louder the more I resist  
Losing the battle I waged on myself  
Inside I'm a danger to myself  
I'm a danger to you all  
Inside I'm a prisoner of my own hell_

"Alice, stop," Claire demanded as she followed the blonde.

Alice was on her way to gather up her weapons so she could go. She didn't necessarily want to leave, but it was necessary – it was compulsion. She'd been after Umbrella this long, and now there was a very good chance that Isaacs was in the facility she was now targeting.

When the redhead couldn't get the other woman to stop with just words, she reached out and grabbed Alice's wrist to force her to stop. "Don't leave, please."

Alice finally stopped when she was forced to. "I have to go," she stated simply.

"Why?" Claire demanded. "Why do you have to go?"

"Because you were right, revenge is a poison and it's the only thing flowing through my veins," Alice answered.

"You don't have to let them get the better of you," Claire said even as the blonde pulled out of her grip.

The blonde shook her head, turning and starting to throw her weapons and ammunition into a bag. She'd take as much as she could carry. "You're wrong. There is nothing good about me, Claire. Nothing. I did try to change, but now I see that I'll always be the same."

"I don't believe that," the other woman informed her.

"Then you're blind." There was a cool, almost harsh tone to Alice's voice now. "I let you believe what you wanted to. I let you think there could be something between us to get what I wanted. I used you for my own ends… At least we didn't get very far with it - that should make it a little easier on you."

The intensity of Claire's glare was hotter than the fire of a thousand suns. "It should be easier because, what? You didn't fuck me?" She paused long enough to let out a mirthless, cruel laugh – the cruelty directed at herself. "You really think that makes it easier? You think I care about that?"

Alice could feel every particle of herself being stripped down and burned away by the other's glare – she was certain that any moment every single bit of her would disintegrate to nothing. She held firm though. "Emotions compromise – a _leader_ should know that. I am sorry for doing what I did, but I'm a selfish person. I wanted to feel something and I used you to get it – that's all it ever was." Surely if she told herself that enough it would be true.

"You're… unbelievable," Claire practically spat the words at the blonde.

"I know," Alice confirmed with a nod, shouldering her bag of weapons. She hesitated a moment before speaking again. "If you want to keep your convoy safe, head north – as far as you can get. Alaska would be a good place to go. I know the virus – the undead have no body heat. Even if they try to follow you up there, they'll freeze – at the very least, they'll freeze in the winter. It will be safe."

The redhead glared at the other for a moment longer before turning on her heel and storming off. Alice didn't give her a chance to come back – instead, she turned and headed in the opposite direction, towards Umbrella.


	10. Part 2: War is the Answer

**Well… this is going to be it for Won't Forget You. It was a good run while we had it, but right now I'm taking a break from writing – Judgment and I just need a little vacation. You have plenty of other entertaining writers out there to keep you happy while I fade into the shadows for a while. Keep an eye on my profile page, I'll make sure to keep you as up to date as possible on what I'm doing, what I'm working on, when I think I'll get back to writing, etc.**

**Secondly, some of you stalkers – ahem, **_**readers**_** – are really freakin' awesome. Thank you.**

**And lastly, even while I'm off the writing scene for a while, I welcome all messages from my readers – hate mail about another hiatus, love mail/marriage proposals, random acts of awesomeness, I think you get the idea here. I'll still be around, just not actively writing – unless by some freak accident I get eaten by storms while out chasing them (tornado alley is a **_**fantastic**_** place to live during spring and early summer).**

**So, until next time dear kiddies… I bid you adieu. While I'm gone, I expect you to give the love you'd normally give me to the other great RE fanfic authors out there.**

* * *

_Part 2: War is the Answer_

_Time to set the record straight  
As of now the end begins  
I want to laugh but there's no joke  
Motherfucker, war is the answer_

"Alice isn't coming?" K-mart asked as Claire stormed to the front of the Hummer and got in with an irritated huff.

"No," the redhead answered. "She's not coming. She's going to try and get herself killed." The SUV's engine roared to life, seeming to growl a little louder in response to its owner's aggravated state.

The teen fell silent after that, looking in the side mirror to watch the fading figure. Alice was supposed to stay, they'd been looking after each other since the blonde stumbled into her life bloodied and broken.

Claire grabbed her radio as she got her vehicle going again. She spoke into the device as she checked the mirror to make sure the others were falling in line. "We're heading north, guys."

There were a few moments of silence before Mikey's voice crackled back over the radio to her. "North? What's north?"

"Alaska, and hopefully somewhere safe to stay," Claire answered.

#

Alice only glanced over her shoulder once as she left the convoy. She did regret her words, because she knew they hurt Claire. It had been necessary though. This was a mission she had to do on her own; she couldn't have the redhead or any of the others from the convoy coming with her.

As she trudged through the sand, she wondered if she really had cared about the redhead. If she did… would it have been so easy to say those things? Would it have been so easy to break the other woman's heart?

_Sometimes, you have to destroy something perfect to make it beautiful_, the blonde thought to herself. They had fit so easily together, it had been as close to perfect as anyone could hope for. Now it was beautiful – she broke them to save Claire, likely sacrificing herself in the process.

She never considered the cost to the redhead though.

"Stop thinking," she eventually told herself. It didn't matter that she was talking to herself, it was a distraction. "Nothing good ever comes of it."

Her thinking and conversation had to be put on hold soon enough. She came upon a ridge and saw a crumbling weather station down below. Knowing Umbrella, that was just a cover. It had to be. Alice was absolutely certain that the building was just an entrance to a large complex. The intact fence and few straggling undead gave her more proof than she needed.

Before descending the ridge, she glanced back in the direction she'd come one last time. "I won't forget you, Claire," she promised the air.

The blonde turned and picked her way down the ridge. There was no point in trying to be stealthy about it. Umbrella was probably watching her trek across the sands toward them. She was confident in her ability to take whatever they threw at her – she'd managed so far.

Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about the undead that were hanging around. Their motor functions were already severely hindered. The fence didn't even offer a challenge. Instead of breaking it open and letting the few straggling undead in, she simply leapt the fence in a single bound.

Landing on her feet, she honestly expected immediate gunfire, bombs… something. There was nothing to greet her though – just the silence broken by guttural groans of the undead she'd left on the other side of the barrier. She would have felt better if she'd jumped into a trap, but she pressed forward.

Alice headed for the building, noticing signs of fairly recent activity at once. There were several sets of foot prints and even tire tracks – this was definitely a facility and it was still active.

The inside of the building was underwhelming, especially considering the mansion she'd been living in not so long ago. Apparently after the end of the world, the corporation didn't have to uphold appearances anymore. It was still fairly clean inside, some stray sand and dust in places but not nearly enough for the place to be convincingly abandoned for well over a year.

As she stepped forward, the table in the middle of the room split in half and even the floor pulled apart. In place of it, a platform elevator appeared. Now the blonde was getting a little apprehensive. The situation was just too quiet. She had yet to see a single person and that was making her paranoia skyrocket.

Still, she removed a pistol from the bag over her shoulder and stepped onto the elevator. There was a very simple control pad on the side and after a moment's contemplation, she hit the button to go down.

When the platform began its descent, the floor shut overhead and lights turned on sections at a time to illuminate the way down. Alice had no idea what would be waiting at the bottom and while claustrophobia had never been a problem for her, she didn't like being in this confined space – it was more the threat of the unknown than actually being in the elevator shaft.

It seemed like the ride down took an eternity, but she was well aware how big the facility likely was. She'd end up stories below ground, right in the middle of an Umbrella run lab… thinking back, she decided this was definitely not one of her smartest plans. It was done now.

Finally, the elevator slowed and the shaft opened into a large open space. She actually came out right in the middle of the lab. It was like a blast from the past: there were people working around her as if nothing at all was wrong. None of them even seemed to notice her presence. People in lab coats and others in suits worked at computers or over microscopes or discussed something on a clipboard – for a moment she thought she was back in the Detroit or Raccoon City facility.

After the temporary shock, Alice stepped off of the elevator. She watched the others in the lab with unrestrained suspicion, but none of them so much as acknowledged her presence. Either she'd completely mastered the stealth thing without even knowing it or they were far too prepared for her arrival. Something told her it was the latter.

Her assumption was proven right as a familiar voice greeted her. "Project Alice, you finally found your way home," Dr. Isaacs stated smugly.

She slowly turned to face him, incredibly pleased to find it was actually the man and not just a cheap projection. "I thought you'd be here, so I dropped in for a quick visit," she replied.

"Quick? I don't think you'll be leaving anytime soon," the doctor informed her. With a motion of his hand, several heavily armed guards surrounded Alice on three sides, disarming her.

The blonde couldn't say she was surprised. They took her guns, but she was still a weapon herself. "If you think you're going to do anything else to me, you are sorely mistaken."

"For now, I just want to show you what we've been working on. I think you'll find it most intriguing. I've had to do a great deal of improvisation since you broke out of our Detroit facility." The doctor waved his hand once more and two guards took Alice by the arms to lead her after Isaacs as he turned and walked down a nearby hall.

She really didn't appreciate the escort, but Alice followed anyway. She wanted to know what the good doctor had been up to since she escaped.

They didn't go very far down the hall. Isaacs stopped and pushed a few buttons on a keypad, a door opening in response. Inside, the room was absolutely dark. "Inside," he instructed. The guards didn't give her much of a choice, pushing the blonde inside.

Alice turned to see the door slide back in place and what had once been white walls shifted, turning completely translucent as the lights flickered on. What she found waiting for her in the room was not what she expected – several copies of herself.

It was completely surreal and for a moment, Alice didn't trust what her eyes were telling her that she was seeing. Surely this was some sort of mistake. There was no way that Umbrella could clone her, but then again more impossible things than that had happened.

She wasn't given any time to figure it out, because one of the clones to her left came at her swinging. She ducked under the attack and then was forced to maneuver to the side as she heard another of the clones come at her from the opposite side. Alice grabbed an incoming fist, shoving the clone back before tripping another that came after her.

"You don't have to do this," she tried to reason with them.

The doctor's voice filtered into the room via an intercom. "I'm afraid they do. You may be able to resist your neural dampener, but I took a much more direct approach in keeping control of them."

Alice swore lowly, taking a hit that knocked her several feet back and to the ground. The copies were practically as strong as she was - which wasn't something that she had expected. They were just as fast too and with half a dozen of them moving in, she knew she was actually in a bit of trouble.

She flipped back up to her feet, blocking the first two attacks and countering a third with a kick to the gut. Before she had time to prepare for the next round, a clone got in behind her and kicked one of her legs out from underneath her and another delivered a nasty right hook to the side of her face. The punch drove her back to the ground and more than one foot connected with her stomach and chest – the final kick driving her back into the wall hard enough to crack it.

Alice knew this was turning out to be a very bad situation. Half a dozen copies of her that had the same strength and speed definitely outmatched her. She simply wasn't going to win this way. As the clones pressed in on her, she spit out a mouthful of blood and pushed herself up off the ground. This time, she was more precise in blocking the incoming attacks, taking as little damage as possible from the copies.

Isaacs wasn't going to beat her into submission that easily. She still had one up on all of these clones – she was the original Alice, nothing could ever own up to that.

Mustering the will and determination as she defended herself, Alice's pupils dilated and she unleashed a telekinetic blast that literally shook the entire facility. The clones were tossed back like ragdolls, shattering the glass wall and spiraling back until heavy, solid objects broke their flights.

Dr. Isaacs and several others had been plowed over in the blast. In fact, there only seemed to be one person left on their feet in the whole facility - Alice.

She stepped forward, the rubble of the cracked floor crunching underneath her boots. The mental blast had taken a lot out of her but sheer force of will kept her going. She heard movement ahead – a couple of the clones were already getting back on their feet and arming themselves with large pieces of debris.

"This isn't funny anymore," she informed them. The first rushed at her with a broken chunk of ceiling, intention of bashing her head in with it. Alice ducked under the attack, bringing her fist up into the copy's gut as she stepped forward. Without giving the other any reaction time, she got behind the clone, reached up, and snapped the copy's neck.

There was absolutely nothing that could explain the feeling of killing someone that looked exactly like her.

She wasn't given time to try and put words to what she was feeling. The other clone was moving in fast. Alice dropped down and swept her leg around, knocking the clone off her feet. Without missing a beat Alice grabbed a large chunk of broken glass, turned, and drove the sharp object into the clone's chest.

She could honestly feel her brain at work, trying to fathom how she could literally be killing herself. It wasn't getting very far though.

The other clones were up and on their feet, but Alice dispatched them as well – each falling a little easier than the one before. Anyone else that had been in the facility had either high tailed it out or was in the process of doing so. They never expected the blonde to be able to best the clones or cause so much damage to the complex.

Dr. Isaacs was still there, however. He wasn't going anywhere – not when his precious project was so close at hand. "Project Alice… there's no need for more senseless violence."

Alice turned at the sound of the doctor's voice, frowning when she faced him. He seemed different somehow – actually, it seemed like his muscle mass was building. The lab coat he had on and clothes beneath were stretching and starting to tear. "What have you done?" she asked.

"Me? Oh, this is all your doing, my dear," the doctor informed her. He reached up with one hand and ripped off what was left of the lab coat. "Your little telekinetic stunt… when the glass shattered, it injured several people. Then the clones flying through it, I suppose the chances of blood contamination were incredibly slim, but I could always count on you."

Now Alice understood. If Isaacs had been injured and one of the bleeding clones hit him, there was a chance that their blood had mingled. It seemed like that was exactly what had happened. "Enjoy it while it lasts – before I kill you."

Isaacs scoffed at her, now ripping off his shredded shirt. At the rate he was growing, the blonde wondered if he actually had the upper hand. "I think I was wrong about the future… you aren't it. I am the future."

"You won't get to see the future," Alice told him before unleashing another telekinetic blast.

The doctor was knocked back several feet, but he stopped himself. He regained his footing and rooted himself. "That's not going to work," he said before rushing the blonde.

His bulk was slowing him down a great deal, for which Alice was very thankful. She dropped down as the doctor swung his hulking arm around and attempted to kick out his knee on her way back up. The attack didn't work – he didn't even budge. He swung back the other way and Alice sidestepped to avoid him, failing at another counterattack.

The two went back and forth with neither of them landing a truly successful attack for what seemed like ages. Alice was at a complete loss. Whatever she threw at Isaacs bothered him about as much as a mosquito bite. She was beginning to wonder if his uncontrollable mutation was too much for her to handle, but thankfully she wouldn't have to answer that for herself. They fought all across the lab, destroying anything and everything that was in their way.

As he swung his arm around again, there was a sickening sound that was similar to something being ripped apart. The noise was quickly drowned out by Isaacs howling in pain. Alice didn't know what had happened until she stepped back and saw him cradling his arm with his other hand – there was a large gash running up the length of his left arm, from his wrist to his shoulder. Blood flowed freely from the wound and as he attempted to stop it, a similar gash opened up on his other arm.

The infection was literally tearing him apart.

Alice watched in twisted fascination as his bulging muscles became too much for his skin to contain. If he wasn't growing at such a rate, it wouldn't have been a problem. But considering how quickly and how much his skin was being forced to stretch, his body couldn't handle it.

The gashes were widening the more that Isaacs moved and others were opening up across his body. His pained cries of agony fell on deaf ears – as far as Alice was concerned, he deserved what he was getting. He was part of what created the virus, he took humanity away from her - it was some sort of poetic justice to be destroyed by his own creation.

The more breathing room that the mutations were allowed – in the form of splitting skin – the faster they worked. In the midst of Isaacs' agony, Alice could hear bones popping out of place and shattering.

Even when the bellowing stopped and all that was left was a bleeding heap of mangled flesh on the floor, the mutations continued. The T-virus was an incredibly powerful thing – she could only imagine what would happen if someone was contaminated with her blood. Or would it happen at all? It wasn't something she was willing to find out.

To prevent any further incidents and considering the virus was infamous for re-animating the dead, Alice walked to the nearest working computer terminal and disabled the facility's sprinkler system. After that, it only took her a few minutes to create a suitable mass of flammable objects and light it all ablaze.

Rather than burning down to the ground, this facility would burn up to it. Alice would have nothing left behind – especially if Isaacs didn't stay down. She went through other areas of the facility and started more fires, making sure anything ignitable was well within reach of the flames. If this place was going to burn, she had to do it properly.

When her work was done and she finally made it back to the surface, the sun was long gone. The stars overhead were her only source of light and she was suddenly very glad that she'd left the fence intact. After the fighting and arson, Alice was honestly tired. She couldn't stay anywhere near the facility – there was no telling what all had been down below the surface, but she knew the threat of large scale explosions was very real. The last thing she needed was to be blown up too.

She'd have to start from scratch again – she had only brought weapons with her and those were lost somewhere down below the surface. That thought didn't bother her though. Nothing bothered her at the moment. Instead of feeling satisfaction or remorse or… anything really, she just felt empty.

Claire was right. Revenge – geared inward or outward – was a poison. Just as deadly as that venom was an unwarranted need for redemption. Combined, the two had taken everything out of the blonde.

It was true, she got what she wanted – she saw Isaacs' death for what he'd done to her and to the world. But considering that had been her drive for so long, she was now at a loss as to what reason she had to continue moving forward. There was a certain redhead that deserved an apology, but after the way they'd parted Alice knew that the other woman would want nothing to do with her.

Maybe someday she'd gather the courage to head northward and see if the convoy made it to safety.


End file.
